A Heart Grown Cold (MARKED FOR DELETION)
by Zimithrus1
Summary: His personality was akin to that of the coldest ice. No one had ever seen him laugh, cry, or even smile. His only expression was the rancorous glare he always wore. Some say his heart was dead and gone. Although, a single SOLDIER was going to try the impossible: Break the icy heart of the small blonde cadet and figure out the enigma that was Cloud Strife. CxZ Pairing
1. Chapter 1: Ice

_Alrighty you guys, here's chapter one! Newly revised and ready to go! For all you new readers checkin' this story out, I hope you enjoy it and the many roads it will travel in the future :) Anyhow, let's do this!  
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_~XChapter 1: IceX~_

"Son of a-!" The cry of a young SOLDIER shouted down the hall.

Three other SOLDIER's were waiting for this one. Today, a new shipment of recruits were coming in today, and the first thing they did, was assess their battle skills and instincts. All of the infantrymen had been gathered and were about to start the test down in a large training room below.

"He's going to miss it if he doesn't hurry." The one with black hair sighed. Strapped to his back was a very large sword that he never used. His blue eyes were locked onto the streach of empty hallway. He was waiting for his student with narrowed vision.

"If that happens, it's his own fault. He'll just miss a good show is all." The one with auburn hair and milky blue-green eyes retorted with a small snort of amusement. His arms were folded an locked across his chest. His prized LOVELESS book, tucked away in his red leather trench coat.

"Hmph." The last one grunted out, fully aware that the Second Class they were waiting on had a habit of being fashiobable late. His long flowy silver hair stretched down to the end of his black leather trench coat. His icy blue eyes looked dull and unamused, but then again, they always did.

He was staring at the simulation room beyond the glass in the observation room. All in all, about twenty new cadets shifted nervously, waiting for the simulation and the evaluations begin. But one caught the silver haired SOLDIER's eyes. He stood tall and firm, a smoulder was locked on his lips from under the helmet. He looked serious. Almost too serious in a way. He ignored the others around him and only stared straight ahead at the empty space of the large room surrounding him.

"Hey. Look at that one." The one with long silver hair pointed out.

"What is it Sephiroth? Found one that spiked your intrest?" The auburne haired one spoke up, looking through the glass, following the invisible path of Sephiroth's pointing finger.

"Look at that one Genesis." He responded when said auburnette's eye contact was recieved to the firm cadet in the room below.

Other SOLDIER's were watching from other rooms all around the upper floors of the simulation room behind glass windows, just like these three SOLDIER's were doing. Some looked to be placing bets, some looked with rapt attention, staring at their favorite one.

"What are you guys looking at?" The un-named SOLDIER first-class asked his other first-class friends with an arched eyebrow. His arms had been folded across his chest comfortably and he shifted his weight over to the right as he stood.

"This cadet here. Take a look Angeal." Genesis spoke, motioning him over with a quick motion of his hand.

Angeal peered over the two as his gaze locked onto the mystery cadet that stood tall. He certainly looked like an interesting one. Even under the helmet, the ravenette could tell that this cadet was serious. Not only that, but he was also determined. You could see it in the way he held his head up in a near arrogent manner.

"Did I miss anything yet?" A new voice spoke, panting and out of breath.

Angeal peered over his right shoulder, his deep blue eyes locking onto the young teen behind him. "About time Zack. We were just looking at this strange cadet." He responded to his student's question.

Zack was beginning to perspire from his sprint in the halls. His dishevled off black hair was flung in every direction, and his thick bangs fell into his face and masked his Mako blue eyes, always tinted with micheviousness and never ending energy. He approached the window and shoved his way to the front in between Sephiroth and Genesis.

"Don't push Zack!" Genesis hissed, nudging the second class with his elbow roughly. Zack only stuck his tounge out at Genesis, unphased from the rough shove, and looked out the window.

He spotted the cadet right away, due to the fact he was still, tall, and not shifting nervously like his comrads beside him. Not to mention he was standing at a good distance from the other infantryman. He did not want to be grouped with this bunch it seemed. Somehow, one could just tell.

"Good afternoon to you all. Today, we are here to assess our new batch of infantrymen. We will see what skills they have, and how they will put them to use in battle. If they do poorly, they will return back to their hometown until they are ready. Those who exceed our expectations or pass with a fair evaluation, will be able to stay, and call themselves a rightful infantryman. Give us a moment to set up..." A voice spoke from down below.

You could clearly hear every spoken word, even behind the glass. The attention of SOLDIER's and new cadets alike shifted their gaze to the edge of the training room, where three people sat behind a small fold-out table. The one who had spoken earlier had sandy blonde hair. Most of it was tucked behind his ears, although a few strands fell into his face out of near definace. Fixed upon the bridge of his nose, were thin silver framed glasses, catching the light of the training room. This man was Lazard, the Director of the SOLDIER program.

Along with this man, on his right side sat a black haired man. His hair was tightly tied back in a ponytail, and he had a red dot in the middle of his forehead. He was dressed in a formal black suit, complete with a black tie to match. He was Tseng of the Turks. He was most likely here to scope out likely candidates for their program. The Turks were the president's right hand men you could say. They did his bidding, helped to scope for likely Turk and SOLDIER candidates, and also did a lot of dirty work on the side.

Finally, on the left of Lazard sat a man dressed in a white lab coat. He had greasy brown hair tied back into a ponytail like Tseng's. He also had glasses like Lazard's fixed on his face, the nosepieces serving to good to him since the bridge of the gasses were digging into skin. His analytical brown eyes scanned the crowd of new infantrymen. He must be here to find candidates worthy enough for Mako treatments and booster shots to further enhance their physical ability. The man believed if you came here and exceeded expectations, you were worthy of his time.

"Thank you for your patience." Lazard began. "We will begin with the test. Hojo and Tseng will be evaluating your skills, as well as I. Line up!" He ordered.

The group hesitantly began to form a single file line. The mystery trooper only rounded back and headed to the end of the line, were he waited last. He still held a smoulder under the standard issued hemlet.

"Huh. That's interesting." Zack piped up.

His face was almost pressed against the glass. His heavy breathing from running down the long corridor, was still with him and fogging up the window. He cleaned it off with his glove and his attention was pulled back to the simulation room. The first cadet in line nervously began to step forward, his rifle clutched in his brown gloved hands tightly. You could tell he was shaking terribly by the way he held himself. He looked like a dog frightened by an oncoming thunderstorm. It was near pitiful.

Across from the observation rooms upstairs from the training room, there was a simulation room, where some assistants fired up a large machine to distribute a virtual monster or two to the training floor below. After a few switches and buttons were pressed and fiddled with, a monster began to pixelize just a few feet away from the first infantryman. When the pixelization was done, none other than a Smogger stood tall before the frightened looking infantryman.

The first infantryman in line was nervous as he gripped his rifle. The cadet behind him, nudged him forward out of impatiance. The first gulped loudly and shakily approached the virtual mechanical monster. It rushed at the trooper, which caused the teen to shrei and fire widly, missing the Smogger by a long shot. Its' robotic eyes blinked and glimmered in an unfamilier light and it quickly unleashed its' Deadly Waste attack. Deep purple liquid rushed at the trooper quickly, bubbling and steaming. The infantryman quickly stumbled back, tripping over air as he fell onto his rear with a thunk.

"Amature." Sephiroth commented with his usual scowl, present on his face. He knew this infantryman wouldn't pass the evaluation. He'd be sent back home before he could even say chocobo.

"Shh!" Zack exclaimed sharply, wanting to hear every little detail and every little breath. His eyes were glued to the fight down below through the glass. It was always fun to watch a new batch of infantryman assess their skills. Next to Zack, Sephiroth just rolled his eyes and went back to watching in silence.

The Deadly Waste swallowed the tropper in its' thick purple liquid, and quickly began to eat away at the material of his uniform. Sure, the monsters might be virtul, but any attack they perform is as real as any real monster, and any wounds you get, stay with you. The infantryman screamed, then passed out from fright.

Hojo narrowed his eyes from behind his glasses and scoffed in annoyance. He didn't have any time to watch failures. Tseng just mutely shook his head, disappointed. So far, this batch wasn't doing so hot. Lazard had smacked the palms of his hands on top of his head as it shook in disbelief at the troopers reaction to the attack. The medical team saw this as their cue to drag the fainted trooper away and check for serious injuries.

Zack was snickering and snorting loudly, hardly able to contain the urge to laugh up a storm. He couldn't hold it back for very long and husky laughter burst from his chest making his body heay with every deep breath he somehow managed to catch. He recieved a small slap across the head. He stopped laughing and looked up at the perpatraitor. Genesis had smacked him.

"Knock it off Puppy. I can't hear a thing with your loud voice screeching at my eardrum." The man said with a playfull, yet annoyed, scoff.

Zack narrowed his Mako blue eyes and snorted at the auburnette, regaining his composure from earlier as he looked out the glass window again. One by one, the troopers fell, barely succeeded, or passed with a fair evaluation. Now, the only cadet that remained to be evaluated, was the one wearing the smoulder across his face from before. Lazard and the others had seen this man's behavior and decided it would be wise to give him a nice challenge. So, a Sweeper pixelized. Excited murmurs whispered through the crowd of cadets still remaining, and the SOLDEIR's watching from the floors above.

"I've never seen them test out a beginner with such a strong monster before." Angeal spoke, with eyes locked onto the ferocious mechanical monster which was spinning its' turrets rapidly, gettting ready to fire thirty rounds in about two seconds at any given moment.

"Hey look at that. His facial expression hasn't changed." Sephiroth pointed out.

The other three gazed down to the cadets face. It had not even changed a bit. Not even a frown or a bit of a smirk. Not even a twitch of the corners of his lips. His posture was still the same as well, straight and focused.

He drew his rifle up quickly with precision. He began to shoot at the mechanical monster. It gaurded and began to stomp its way over to the trooper. When it's turrets began to fire, the cadet sidesteped to avoid injury, and continued to shoot at the scorpion, being able to shoot the rifle one handed. It's turrets spun faster, shooting out quicker rounds on the left and right side of the trooper, to prevent him from sidestepping again. The trooper, had yet to take even one small scratch. His facial expression still remained the same; Cold and firm. The sweeper scanned the trooper for vital information within a beam of light. Same facial expression, same attitude.

The trooper lunged right at the Sweeper and drew out his issued nightstick, in which he jammed it into the bulky body. It let out a mechanical sounding cry and shakily stepped back. He pulled the nightstick out and drew up his shotgun within a matter of miliseconds, and shot the beast, just missing the core my a mere inch. it let out a cry and scuttled back. The trooper followed, only to have to quickly backstep multiple times to avoid its' rapid fire, shooting out in mulitple directions.

"He moves fast." Sephiroth commented, eyes firmly locked on the trooper's every movement.

Genesis's eyes were also raptly gazing at the swift and graceful movement of the trooper. "He shows talent. It all depends whose unit he's put under." He said.

Shinra divided new recruits up into units, directed by first-class SOLDIER's, or willing higher ups, in charge of the regular army. Sephiroth had a unit, even though they were all fearful of him, Angeal had a unit, and they were superb fighters. Genesis refused the offer of a unit. If he was going to command anyone or anything, he would do it one-on-one, or not at all. Anyone under his tutalage, had to have some skill, and not be weak. Zack was not well trained enough to have his own unit yet, even though he had been begging for one. Lazard said he would have to grow up a bit more, apparently being too close to the age of the infantrymen to teach them.

Their attention went back to the window when the mechanical beast screamed again. The trooper had loaded his nightstick into his rifle and shot it right into the core of the machanic monster and out the backside, taking chunks of wire and parts with it. The Sweeper tumbled down, then desinigrated into nothing but the codes from which it was born.

The three judges looked very impressed with the infantryman's display of battle. So did the observing SOLDIER's that were watching from above. Even the four in the room had different expressions on their faces, from completely dumbfounded, to amusement. The trooper looked up to the window the four first classes were in. He removed his helmet. His blonde spikes quickly rose and stood on end, and his light blue eyes shimmered from the lights above him. His face was firm and cold. Dare they think colder since he had removed his helmet. He acually gave them a firm salute and walked over to the table with the evaluators.

"...Woah! That was awesome!" Zack exclaimed after a pause of silence had resonated through the observation room they were still currently in. "Hmm." Sephiroth huffed, a small smirk flicered across his face. This trooper definatly showed some potential.

"That was impressive." Angeal commented with half widened eyes.

Genesis's eyes were half lidded in an amused expression. "He is one interesting infantryman." He said, shoving his hands into his pockets.

"I wonder whose unit he's gunna be put under?" Zack questioned, bounding up from his spot quickly, and turning towards his three friend's behind him.

"So, Whose unit do you think he'll be in?" Genesis spoke up, to the small group that had moved away from the window.

"Wanna place bets?" Zack asked with a sly smile.

"Well, regardless, we'll find out tomorrow. Everyone is always present when 'inoguration' happens. He could be put an any group. So placing bets wouldn't be wise, Zack." Angeal told him.

The second class pouted with puffed out cheeks and rolled his blue eyes. "Fine." He moaped after exhaling sharply.

"Well, we might as well call it a day." Sephiroth spoke up from the group as he left the room and into the empty streach of the hallway.

"Sounds good." Genesis seconded, also leaving the room.

Angeal nodded and left without a word, leaving Zack to be the only one in the room.

"h-Hey! Wait for me!" He called, hurridly dashing after the group.  
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_A/N: So, there's chapter one! Please tell me what you think of it! I would love some feedback from you all! :3_

_Anyhow, I hope you enjoyed this story, and the parts will always be this detailed in description. I'll try to update these reworked chapters on a regular basis, we'll see, but Until then, thank you all! :)_

_Toodles! :D ~Zimithrus1_


	2. Chapter 2: Inoguration

_Alrighty! Chapter two of our altered version is up and ready for reading! I appreciate the feedback I've gotten so far, and thanks and virtual cookies to those who have faved,_  
><em>followed, and reviewed! :D Well, let's get this show on the road!<em>  
><em>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~<br>~XChapter 2: InogurationX~_

"Yet again, the puppy is late. Dare I say, per usual for him." Genesis blandly said, seeing as Zack was once again late. The firy red-head had his nose buried deep into his prized LOVELESS book to help pass time until Inoguration began.

Angeal could only sigh to himself and shake his head. A few loose strands of his off black hair swung with his head, and his blue eye closed in near annoyance, but only briefly. He would have to talk to Zack about being on time. Punctuality was a skill the energetic puppy did not seem to come with. Inoguration was about to commence, and the vivacious teenager was nowhere to be found.

As standard procedure, each SOLDIER first class was required to be at this event, since any infantryman could be placed within their ranks. Said Second Class was not required to be at this event, but he often showed up anyway just to see who was put under whose unit. Some of the willing higher-ups stood on the other side of the hallway that was filled with infantrymen, SOLDIER's, and some of the Turks had decided to drop in for worthy looking candidates. Tseng was here yet again, just like yesterday during assessment. Alongside the stoic man was a flamboyant red-head, accompanied by his taciturn partner.

Perhaps These three were scouting our future Turk members. It wasn't uncommon for newly placed infantryman to up and leave with that black suit group. As sneaky as the group was, they were close knit and always had each others back. The standard military was different. They didn't care how many lives of nameless cadets were lost, just as long as the brainless masses pulled together briefly just to get the job done.

Eyes from workers and passer-bys alike skimmed the unified row of infantrymen, all standing nervously, or constantly shifting their weight to either side of their body. The only still and sharp one, was none other than the fearless cadet from yesterday's assessments. His helmet was on, but the three could tell that it was him, due to his posture and his smoulder from under the visor. The feedback of a microphone screeched across the large room. Some groaned loudly when the sharp ringing echoed in their eardrums. Two small taps to the microphone grabbed everyone's attention.

"Welcome, SOLDIER's, Commanders, and employees alike, to the Infantry Inoguration!" Lazard spoke through the velvet coating of the black microphone.

"He's missing it as we speak." Genesis spoke up, deciding that now was a good time to put LOVELESS away since Lazard had started speaking.

"'Scuse me! Coming through!" A familiar voice echoed quietly from the SOLDIER section of the split hall. There emerged Zack, out of breath once again. He slapped a hand against Angeal's back.

"Just barely made it!" He cheered breathless. A shaky fist shot up and penetrated the still air above. He let it fall back down as he took a gulp of fresh air. Angeal just rolled his eyes and found himself shaking his head again.

"We were quite impressed with the infantrymen who made it this far, because as you know, not everyone trying for our wonderful cooperation gets in. Since yesterday's assessments, we have narrowed down the men among us to twenty-one!" Lazard continued, taking breathers whenever it was necessary.

The mic would squeal on occasion, making everyone cringe at the earsplitting sound. They really needed to get those fixed. Sadly, most of Shin-Ra's budget was not spent on repairs, but moreover on the science and SOLDIER departments. Technology was advanced here, but hardly ever maintained.

"Today, we shall place them among our ranks to whom we see fit to train them." Lazard said, as his gaze was morely focused on the infantrymen. "First up, we have Samuel Wheller." He called out.

The infantryman took slow and cautious steps toward the podium that Lazard was behind. His steps were slightly shaky, even though the man tried to make himself seem confident. The man named Samuel was put under the tutelage of a higher-up of the regular army. On-by-one, names were called, until only one remained. Just like yesterday, he was the one that was saved for last. Well, as the saying goes: "Save the Best For Last".

"...And lastly on our roster, we have Cloud Strife." Lazard called.

"Some name." Sephiroth softly spoke up. His arms were comfortably crossed across his chest, and his eyes had closed for only a moment before they opened back up to return moisture to his icy blue eyes.

"You're one to talk." Zack spoke up with a trademark grin of his. A thin line of ivory white teeth poked through from his thin yet amused grin. His piercing sky blue eyes shimmered playfully in the bright lighting of this room.

Cloud approached the podium with his head held high in an arrogant manner. He had a nice even stride as he walked. He stopped just inches away from the podium when he reached it. Everyone else had stopped feet away, too nervous to stand so close to a higher-up like the SOLDIER director.

"Cloud, after careful deliberation, we've decided to put you under the tutelage of Gregory Hills." The sandy blonde haired man spoke, his tone was even and careful as he spoke.

Zack blinked once, an absent look forming across his face. Sephiroth arched a silver brow in near amusement tinted with a bit of curiosity. Genesis scoffed with a flicker of a smirk across his face. Angeal looked taken aback at the decision, his his head jerked back ever so slightly and he blinked absently just like Zack had done.

What on Gaia was Lazard thinking? Granted, Cloud was extremely skilled, but to put him under the tutelage of Gregory Hills? Had the director gone insane? Greg was the toughest, strictest, and the most hated in all of Shinra. Usually, students being trained under him left every day with some form of black eye, broken bone, or internal injury.

Plus, to put the icing on this bitch-cake named Gregory, he had no respect for infantrymen what-so-ever. His training was ruthless, and he pushed the poor cadets around all the time. He was even worse then Genesis having a bad day, and loosing LOVELESS all at the same time. You did NOT want to tangle with Genesis if his precious book had gone missing.

Cloud only continued to hold his firm smoulder. He only nodded and stepped away from the podium, and approached Greg on the other side of the split hall. He still walked with his head held high, and his stride was even as ever.

"Welcome to Hell." Greg said gruffly, snorting at the cadet. His deep brown eyes drilled into Cloud's as a large uneven grin split across his face.

Cloud brushed him off like nothing and ignored the comment. What a brave, and VERY ignorant soul. He stood right beside Greg and didn't move a muscle.

"This is an interesting development." Angeal spoke up, coming over his perplexion.

Zack did not say a word, but his eyes drooped ever so slightly. As hard and firm as Cloud seemed to be, he felt bad for the kid. He had tangled with Greg before when he was only a third class, and it ended up with the young ravenette slammed into the wall with Greg shouting at him and belittling his existence. Ever since then, he tried to keep his distance from the maniac.

"With Infantry Inoguration at it's end, the new mentors for these cadets get the whole day to train them, with that, you're all dismissed." Lazard said, stepping down from the podium.

Crowds began to search for the exits on each end of the hall. Genesis only smirked and began to leisurely walk through the crowds. The others instantly split and formed a path for the high-strung first class. Everyone in Shinra knew that Genesis would not take kindly to being shoved around in a beeline to the exit.

Zack snapped out of his daze and quickly followed behind the red-head, getting a free ticket from being smushed by the crowds of people trying to leave all at the same time. Once the group of SOLDIER's made the clear from the crowds and in their own little circle, they began to talk about how Lazard must have been insane or sleep deprived to do that to Cloud, even if he looked like he could survive.

As they were conversing, none other than Cloud, and a few other infantrymen zipped by. Greg following after them, shouting at them and telling them to pick up the pace.

"Woah!" Zack cried when Greg roughly bumped into him, causing his balance to falter.

The first class clumsily tried to find his footing, but ended up fumbling around trying to keep from falling down. When he had regained his stolen balance, he looked up to see Greg darkly laughing from what he had done. The young ravenette shot the older auburnette a harsh glare. That guy was a real pain in the ass.

"Don't you have some cadets to train, Hills?" Angeal roughly inquired, his blue eyes narrowing firmly at the younger man. He would not tolerate his behaviour after nearly knocking his student over.

Greg stopped laughing when Angeal cut in and followed after the cadets that had ran before him just a few seconds ago, telling them to run faster or they'd get it.

"I really hate that guy." Zack growled, glaring roughly at where Greg had stopped to laugh at him earlier.

"Stand down, Fair. Don't fall to his level. It would make you no better than him." Sephiroth spoke up. His voice had a tint of bitterness behind it. He must have been annoyed with the man as well. HIs icy blue eyes had been narrowed as well. That guy could put anyone in a sour mood. He was nearly as bad as Hojo in terms of behaviour.

Genesis remained silent, and hadn't spoken a single word. He only stood in the small circle and looked to be in deep thought. Either that, or he just did not feel like speaking up at the present moment.

The troopers, plus Cloud, zipped by once again. Although, while they were turning a sharp corner, Cloud slipped and fell onto the tile face first. His helmet flew off and tumbled onto the ground. He didn't even moan or groan. He only hunched up to his hands and knees, and shook his head slowly.

"He's a fast runner, but he's pretty clumsy." Genesis commented as his arms comfortably crossed over his chest as he spoke.

Upon hearing that comment, Cloud's head snapped over to the group, giving them a harsh glare that rivaled the darkness of Greg's laughter. He stood up from the ground and brushed himself off, still glaring at the group. He softly snorted at them, then turned on his heel and picked his helmet up from the floor. He put it back onto his head, then took off in a sprint.

"Same old smoulder." Genesis commented with a flicker of light behind his milky green-blue eyes.

Zack had just watched Cloud run off after picking up his helmet. He fell quiet upon noticing what he did. Behind those icy cold eyes of the cadet, there was another emotion carefully hidden away behind that smoulder. It was embarrassment. Through the angry glare he had given the group, deep down he had been embarrassed that someone had seen him screw up. That cadet was a mystery. The young ravenette's eyes hardened slightly. He was going to figure out the puzzle of the frozen cadet.

_~x~_~X~_~x~_~X~_

Zack's Mako blue eyes displayed disgust when he saw what was slopped onto his styrofoam plate this time. Ravioli. Usually, he never minded the meat stuffed noodles, but when they were from the Shin-Ra cafeteria, one could only cringe. Cold ravioli was just disgusting, especially when you saw it come straight from the can and slopped onto your tray.

Zack sighed outward, knowing that complaining about it wasn't going to magically change his food into something better. He made his way through the line like everybody else, grabbing other items to compliment the main course. He had grabbed a slice of buttered bread, a can of Ton-Berry Blast fruit juice, and a slice of apple pie. Seriously, the desserts were they only thing that tasted good around here. He left the lunch line, only to have his eyes droop once more when he saw how crowded it was. He knew he should have gotten here earlier.

His blue eyes scanned the crowds for a vacant table, or one with only a few people. He saw a table that had only one person sitting there. He quickly made his way over to the table before anyone else could get there. As he approached, he noticed a familiar head of impossible blonde hair.

Cloud was sitting by himself at the table. Before advancing any further, Zack scanned the tables around the blonde's, only to discover that everyone else was sitting as far away as they could from him. Some that dared to sit close enough were whispering and pointing at him. The cadet was paying no attention to them, and was just poking a fork into his ravioli. His left hand was holding his face up, and his elbow was propped against the table.

The ravenette made sure he plopped his tray down loudly next to the blonde, then loudly sat himself down. When he looked over at the others whispering about the blonde, the others had hurriedly looked away and went back to their own business. Nearly immediately, he was eye-to-eye with the blonde. His icy eyes were staring into his, sizing him up almost. The cadet was glaring at Zack, yet he was still poking at his ravioli.

"Not one for ravioli huh?" Zack asked with a smirk. Cloud only stared at him with that famous smoulder of his. He was still poking the noodles.

"So, how are you?" The ravenette asked, taking a bite of the cold ravioli. Yes it was disgusting, but hey, he was starving!

Cloud did not speak, but looked down at his ravioli, then looked back up at Zack, still with cold eyes, but it looked as if he was trying to ask,

'How does the food taste?'

"You should try it." The second class said, taking another bite of his and forcefully swallowing. The texture was really getting to him. The meat on the inside of the noodles was chewy and lukewarm, and as he swallowed, it felt like mud sliding down his throat.

Cloud, seeing Zack's disgusted face after swallowing the ravioli, only pushed his tray away. "I'm not hungry." He said softly and coldly.

"Yeah, the food here sucks, but you get used to it." The ravenette said.

Cloud only looked over at one of his comrades, in which was whispering to the one next to him and pointing at the blonde, then they both started to silently laugh. Whenever they looked back up and saw Cloud with his smoulder, which was now colder than usual, they stopped laughing and returned to their food.

"Wow, they don't let up for one second do they?" Zack asked, resting his face in his hands.

"It's not that bad." Cloud said, still soft and firm.

Zack looked at him, doubt swirling behind his eyes. He knew that was a lie. He could just tell. The blonde wasn't as hard-hearted as he seemed to be. The emotions the ravenette could see behind the glare gave it away. Cloud stood up and grabbed his tray. He looked back at the second class.

"Goodbye." He said, slowly turning around and walking away. He threw away his untouched food and walked out of the cafeteria.

Zack blinked once, watching the blonde walk out of the cafeteria. People gave him a wide berth as he left. Others were intimidated by him by the way he carried himself, but if anything, it just made him more interesting..


	3. Chapter 3: Requiem for the Lost & Damned

_Hello everyone! Sorry for my super long disappearance! Lots of stuff happened and life came into the picture like an uninvited guest! Oooh, it didn't even call before showing up!_  
><em>Just BLAM! Right through the front door! XD Anyways, I'm pretty sure you're all ready for the revised chapter three of a heart grown cold!<em>  
><em>:D<em>

* * *

><p><em> ~XChapter 3: Requiem for the Lost and DamnedX~<em>

It was a peaceful afternoon, the kind of warm summer day where you could lounge around outside and fall asleep under a glowing sun softly beaming a soothing warmth down on you. Even though it was mid-July, the air was caressed by a soft cool breeze coming down from the mountainside. Summer had always been so comfortable, even on the hottest days. Yet for a young blonde boy that usually was oversensitive to the heat, it often times left him passed out on the ground outside. To say the least, he had always liked the wintertime.

Currently, A young Cloud at the age of nine was sitting criss cross on the living room floor enjoying a cool breeze from the air conditioner. The cold air felt good on some exposed skin on his arms and legs from under his shirt and shorts. He had his eyes closed and was in his own little world. Quiet peace like this never lasted long for him, due to two small factors.

"Big Brother! You're gonna play with me today, right?" A young voice cried out, and a small form crashed into his back as frail arms wrapped around him tightly.

"Hey! I wanna play with him!" Another voice shouted, also rushing forward. Then another pair of arms had wrapped around the small blonde boy on the floor.

"Faris! Ashelia! Get off!" Cloud complained due to the weight of his two sisters clamoring all over his back.

Instantly, the two seised their actions and gave him some space. The blonde stood up from the ground and turned around to face the two. Both of his sisters shared the same brown eyes that looked like bright almonds. Ashe had hair of a lighter blonde, almost white in fact. It framed her face and slightly curled in at the ends. Faris had more yellow to hers, yet hers was longer and usually pulled back. Ashe had been the youngest at age five, and Faris was in the middle at seven.

"C'mon, Brother! Play with me! We can play Dragons again!" Ashe insisted, beginning to tug on Cloud's right arm to lead him away.

"No way! You should play with me today! We can build a racetrack and race cars n' stuff!" Faris exclaimed, latching onto his left arm, but not tugging on it.

"Faris, why don't you ever want to play Dragons? Or let Bubba play with me? All you ever do is play cars!" The youngest blonde whined with a big pout on her face.

"Dragons is a girly game! Cars is great because it's not girly! Besides, Bubba is a boy! He probably doesn't even like your silly girly games!" The middle blonde argued back, a scowl on her face as her almond eyes narrowed.

Cloud groaned aloud, used to these kinds of squabbles, but annoyed by them none the less. His sisters were polar opposites of the other. Ashe was like a typical five year old, enjoying fairy tales and how the knight always saves the princess in the end and happy ever afters. Faris had almost nothing to do with her own gender it seemed. She played in the mud all the time and never minded playing with her older brother's hand-me-down toys. Yet they did like one thing as much as the other: Big Brother's time and affection.

"Alright, I'll play Dragons with Ashe first, then I'll play Cars with Faris. Both of you can learn to share playtime." Cloud decided as he pulled his arms away from his clingy sisters and folded them across his chest.

"Ashe always gets to go first! It's not fair!" Faris exclaimed, obviously upset.

"My, my. It seems like you've got quite the handful to contend with, Chocobo." Another voice spoke up.

The three turned around towards the sound of the voice with sudden smiles on their faces. Their mother walked down the hallway and into the living room. Her long wavy hair of golden-yellow flowed down her back almost gracefully. The tips of her hair ended at the small of her back. She had a few long bangs pulled over her shoulder to flow as the pleased. Her eyes were that of a Caribbean blue, seeming to swim with light and never-ending kindness.

Cloud was the only son, and he was the eldest of the batch. Not that he minded that much. It gave him some soft of special attention from his mother since he was the only boy. Faris liked to beg to differ and often exclaim how she was a boy in mind instead of body.

"Mom, why do they always wanna play with me? They never play with each other!" Cloud protested as the long-haired beauty gently ran her fingers through his impossible hair.

"It's because they love you so much, and you are their only big brother. It's obvious they want you to pick favorites." She spoke, reading her two daughters like an open book, no matter how loudly the two denied it.

Their mother took a seat on the couch and she exhaled softly, smiling at her three children as the squabbling continued once more. Eventually, Cloud was able to appease the wrath of his sisters and finally get them to agree with who would go first when it came to playtime for today. He spent thirty minutes playing Dragons with Ashe, and another thirty playing Cars with Faris, promising the two could play Cars first for tomorrow.

But when the front door swung open later on that evening, all of the fun and love vanished in an instant. The children straightened up, not a single word coming out of any of them as they sat still and silent on the living room couch. That's when their father staggered in, slamming the door shut behind him loudly, startling Ashe. Yet the youngest kept silent as her small hands clenched the fabric of her dress that cut off at her knees. Faris kept her eyes down as her nervously wrung out her fingers, and Cloud sat up straight with firm set eyes.

In stumbled their father. His mop of unkempt chestnut hair was in mats at the roots of his head. He had a five o' clock shadow across his jaw line, but he didn't have much definition in his face since he was slightly on the huskier side. He was short as well, but still a good three inches taller than their mother. His dark chocolate eyes were dilated and looked crazed like some mad animal. It was obvious he had just come back from drinking once again.

Their mother was right up on her feet, a soft smile on her face as she played the façade of 'good wife' to a lazy drunkard. She approached him, still smiling as if they were the happiest couple on the face of Gaia. He only snorted at her with a grunt as a greeting.

"Claudia." He greeted after a pause of silence.

He didn't even bother to give her a decent 'Hello' at least. He pushed past her without a word, going straight into the kitchen and opening up the fridge. He seemed to growl when he found nothing in there waiting for him. He turned around quickly to look at the twenty-six year old square in her eyes.

"I figured you'd like to have dinner nice and warm tonight, so I decided to wait until you got home to start cooking. You can have whatever you like, I'll make it right away." She spoke as she made her way into the kitchen, still smiling so carefreely.

"Well, I guess that sounds good. Guess you're not so useless after all..." He grumbled.

Cloud balled up the fabric of his shorts into tight fists as that scowl seemed to increase in disgust. His mother was so selfless and generous, and that stupid scumbag next to her was so greedy and selfish. Not to mention he was aggressive like a savage animal going through rabies or something. He hated that man so much. He was ashamed to be his son. He would never call that man his father, only his name. He didn't deserve to be called 'father'.

"Steak sounds good tonight." He decided after a few moments of thinking.

"Alright, I'll make it for you." Claudia confirmed as she pulled a hairtie from her dress pocket. Just as she finished pulling her hair up, the slob spoke again.

"But I don't want those little parasites eating the same thing as me! Especially That one. He looks just like _HIM_, after all!" He growled has his stubby finger pointed directly at Cloud.

The blonde snarled at him, eyes narrowing like a lion stalking an innocent lamb, ready for a killing. His sisters just grabbed onto his arms, leaning against him as if that alone could hide them. They were terrified of that man, and they had every right to be for what he did to all of them, especially their big brother. Ashe had tears in her eyes from the 'parasite' comment, and Faris had curled herself into a small ball and closed her eyes.

"Oliver!" Claudia exclaimed in disgust at what he called her precious children. She turned around from what she was doing and a fire was burning behind her eyes.

"What!?" He snarled back, a bite of venom poised into his voice like a serpent.

"Don't you talk to my children like that!" She sneered, hands balling into fists.

"What are you going to do about it, Bitch?" He shouted back, popping his neck as if he was getting ready to fight.

Claudia swept up a large pot into her hands, lifting it into the air above her head. She spun it around in her hands before bringing it down onto his head as hard as she could with a massive cry following the action. A large clang echoed through the house and Oliver involuntarily shuddered from the force of the steel object against his head. He was dazed for a moment, trying to shake stars from his eyes.

She broke away from the kitchen, rushing into the living room. She quickly pulled her children off the couch. Ashe was swept into her right arm, and Cloud's hand was pulled with her left hand. Faris was attached to her big brother's free hand and too scared to let go. They were lead away towards a closet in the hallway. She quickly opened up the door and ushered her children inside.

"No matter what happens, no matter what you hear. You stay in here, do you understand me?" Claudia instructed, her eyes set and stern just like her son's moments prior. Now those eyes were big and watery.

She placed a kiss on each of their heads before cracking the door and hurrying out towards the kitchen once more. There was yelling and screaming. Curse words were flung left and right. Claudia kept defending her children, even when the fists began to fly. Each punch that connected to their mother's body was audible even down the hallway and through that crack. Each noise of knuckles striking skin made the three in the closet cringe and flinch. Shutting their eyes and whimpering as well. All except Cloud. His eyes were open and watering with uncried tears.

He had enough guts to lean forward and look through the crack, his heart slamming in his chest while it kept getting harder and harder to breathe for him. His sisters tried to pull on his arms and get him to sit back down, but his will was strong against theirs. They kept whispering for him to sit down, but he refused with silence as his answer. He shut one eye to get a better look through the small opening, and he was instantly horrified.

Oliver had his mother pinned down to the ground, repeatedly wailing on her face and whatever he could grab and hit. He could see blood spurting up from her face and trickling down to the wood ground below, slithering like a crimson red snake across the floor. The man kept yelling and screaming at her, demanding to know where she hid the children so he could get at them next. She refused to talk, she didn't even scream or cry while she as getting beaten up so bad. She would not give him the satisfaction of hearing her scream.

The longer Cloud stared, the more angry he became. His fright was beginning to fade, and he was able to pull his arms away from his sisters. They whispered at him to sit back down and remember what mom told him, but he did not listen. When his mother finally screamed, it was the worst sound he had ever heard in his life. Instantly, he pushed his way out of the closet, quickly cracking the door once more before rushing towards the living room.

"Leave Mom alone!" Cloud cried with all his might as his hands balled into fists. His watery eyes were gone, and now they were angry.

Oliver quickly turned his head, glaring at that feeble -yet oddly determined- voice. He got off Claudia and stood up full height, an amused smirk flickered across his face like the dim flame of a single candle in the darkest room. The bloodied blonde woman on the ground gently rolled her head over, and she had tears in her swelling blue eyes. Her face was so bruised and bloody, yet her eyes were stern when she laid her eyes upon her son.

"I told you to stay hidden..." She rasped, more worried for her son than herself.

"There you are, you little Bastard." Oliver sneered, a pleasant smile spreading across his chapped lips.

Cloud's eyes did not falter from the stubby man's. If anything, they glared little cinders into the brunette's eyes. His brows were furrowed down in a glare, and his fists were clenched so tightly that his knuckles were beginning to turn white. Oliver only began to laugh at the boy trying his best to stand tall and be brave. This only fueled the fire behind the boy's eyes.

"I'm not gonna let you touch Mom anymore you...You-" Cloud strained, trying to come up with something to call the stubby man.

"'You' what?" Oliver chuckled.

"-You stupid fucking fatass! You piece of shit! You coward! You're a coward! You think you can beat up people smaller than you, and you think it makes you so damn powerful! Well you're not! You're a stupid coward!" The blonde screamed, making his voice reverberate throughout the entire house.

That wiped the smirk right off Oliver's face, and instead he began to scowl as each insult set into his head -which was now sporting a decent sized lump due to Claudia's cooking pot-

Finally having enough of looking at the larger man, Cloud rushed at him with a fist pulled back and ready to strike. Instead, the brunette just shot his hand out and pressed it against the blonde boy's forehead, keeping him a good foot or two away from actually hitting the stubby man. The twenty-nine year old grinned once more, knowing he still had the upper hand. He was then able to pull his arm back -with the blonde's face still in hand- then shove him away. The nine-year old lost his footing and tumbled across the wood floor.

"Go hide, Cloud!" Claudia begged, not wanting to see her little boy get beat like she did.

"Shut up you!" Oliver growled, turning in her direction.

A swift kick to the woman's gut stole the air right from her lungs, and she began to cough and gag harshly, spitting up blood. The boy recovered lost ground and looked towards the kitchen. He could see the meat scissors sitting ontop of the island counter. In a hurry, he dashed over and stretched his hand up, gripping the blades by the handle. The brunette was still distracted with Claudia coughing on the floor, so he blonde took action.

With a cry of effort, Cloud ran up and stabbed Oliver in his thigh as deep as he could. He ripped them back out and opened up the blades. With that, he went to work at snipping at the brunette's exposed flesh, nicking and cutting it deep enough to make it bleed. The man growled lowly, a bit of pain in the lower registers of his voice. He tried to grab at the scissors that the blonde had, but instead the sharp blades snagged his index finger on his right hand.

See, these scissors were special. Not only could they just cut meat, but they were strong enough to cut through the bones that might be in certain cuts of meat or poultry. With as much strength as he could muster, the blonde closed the blades down on the appendage and snapped it right off from the rest of Oliver's hand. He let loose with a loud cry from the pain of having his nerves cut and split right in half. Blood spurted out in little gushes like a water fountain.

While the stubby man was howling in pain and thinking of nothing else at the moment except how his finger was just cut off from his hand, Cloud tossed the scissors to the ground and rushed to his mother's fallen side. He looked over the bruises on her face, and the ones that littered her arms and any exposed flesh visible with the naked eye. She reached her right hand up and cupped it behind her son's head, pulling it down to meet with her eyes.

"I thought I told you to stay hidden-" She whispered to him before kissing his cheek. "-But thank you for rescuing me." She finished with a soft smile as she let his head go from her hand's grasp.

"C'mon Mom, get up. We gotta go." Cloud told her, gently nudging her with his small hands.

She was about to speak, but instead her eyes widened tremendously. With lightning reflexes, she pulled her son close to her, throwing her body over his to shield him as Oliver swung his hand down and struck her back. The blonde being protected with his mother as a meat shield, looked up at the woman with a horrified expression on his face. Yet she always smiled at him, even through her own tears.

Move, Claudia! Move or I'll beat you to death!" Oliver threatened as he pounded away on her back.

"No! I will not let you hurt my baby!" She cried.

Even as her strength gave way and she fell to her side, she kept her son wrapped in her arms, refusing to let him go for any reason. She curled her body around the boy in her arms to further protect him from the brunette's blows. Even when he began to try and pry her arms away from the blonde, her grip only tightened. She would not loose him to that man!

"Leave 'em alone!" The voice of Faris cried. Within second, the girl had herself wrapped around the brunette's legs, causing the man to loose balance and fall to the ground.

"Faris! What are you doing!?" Claudia cried, enraged that another one of her children disobeyed her once again.

"Rwaaaarrr!" Ashe cried, running out from the closet as she ran up towards Oliver before delivering a swift kick to his crotch.

"Yeah! Get him Ashe! Show him who's got the balls now!" Faris exclaimed, keeping herself anchored to the brunette's legs to keep him from getting up and hurting her mom or brother anymore.

"I told you all to stay in the closet!" Claudia cried. Didn't they understand what was going to happen to them? Oliver would kill them!

Cloud broke away from his mother's arms, standing up and glaring down at the stubby man he had never liked. He snorted at him before walking over and picking up the scissors again. Maybe he could get some more payback for all of the wrongs that the brunette had done to them. Maybe he could snip at his skin equal to the number of bruises on his mother's body? Suddenly, he didn't have time to think, because Faris screamed when she was kicked away, and Ashe cried out in fear and began to run away towards the safety of the closet.

Oliver quickly stood up and yanked the scissors away from Cloud, arming them in his uninjured hand. He pushed the boy to the ground, gripping him by the collar of his shirt and lifting the fabric away from his skin. He then used the scissors as more of a knife, and stabbed them into the blonde's left side. He cried out in agony and began to helplessly squirm as he was pinned against the ground. He kicked his legs and screamed, but he could not squirm free.

"How does it feel, you little Bastard!?" Oliver cried as a big smile flickered across his face again.

Without any time for a response, he pulled the knife upward, tearing the blonde's sensitive skin. He used the scissors as a saw and continued upwards through the boy's body. Cloud screamed like he had never screamed before. He could barely hear his mother over his own cries. His vision blurred with tears, and his mother was hovering over Oliver, trying to pull him off of her boy but lacking the strength to do so. She was knocked away and the sawing continued.

The brunette paused in his actions when the scissors ran across the tips of the blonde's ribcage. Shrugging, he used all of his strength and pulled up, severing the tough bones with only a small amount of effort. Blood poured out of the nine-year-old's gaping side and mouth as he cried out as loud as he could. He tried to call out for his mother, but his voice would not work. All he could do was scream and cry. Oliver only severed half of the ribs on the blonde's left side before his mother jumped on him once more.

Adrenaline surged through the beaten blonde woman, and with near ease, she was able to pry the brunette's hand away from the scissors and remove the utensil from her son's side. With strength a beaten woman shouldn't possess, she pushed Oliver out of the way and pinned him against a wall, gnashing her teeth and spitting at him. She grabbed the scissors and snipped both of the man's eyelids in half. Eye for an eye, she would hurt him as much as he hurt her, and double that for what he did to her only son.

By this time, neighbors had heard the commotion and began to knock at the front door rapidly. There was more than one person out there, probably more like three to five or so. Instantly, Faris was up from her spot on the floor and she rushed towards the door, opening it up wide. Three villagers dashed in, at first asking what all the racket was all about. But when they saw what they saw, the mood instantly changed. One of them got Claudia to stop snipping away at Oliver, and they took the brunette outside as he pleaded that he was innocent and it was all her doing.

As soon as the stubby man was removed from the house, the blonde woman rushed to her son to inspect the damage done. Her heart hurt so much when she saw him crying and screaming like he was. She couldn't remember the last time he had cried like this. She pressed her hand against his ever bleeding side to put pressure on the wound. She ended up crying right alongside him.

Cloud ended up having to stay in the village clinic for two straight weeks, having twenty three stitches in his side just to patch him up. His mother and sisters were with him as much as they could be, and Oliver was ordered to stay away from the family. Yet that didn't stop him one bit. He would find the children out playing, take them into a secluded area and beat them still. He'd beat Claudia when she would go out. Yet when he was looked for throughout the village, he was nowhere to be found.

The days following that event changed the nine-year-old. He stopped smiling, he started to get into reckless fights. He lost what little friends he had left. He even stopped talking. That was when he closed his heart off from whoever he could. Everyone except his sisters and mother.

But eventually, as the children grew older, so did the sightings of Oliver. Turns out he was hiding up in the Nebel mountains. They only found this out because of what happened to his little sisters. They had been playing one day while Cloud was out running errands for his sick mother. They had been taken away and were missing for hours. Once errands were completed, he immediately went to search for them. He found Ashe's body bloodied and dead on the snowy mountain side. She had only been nine years old.

Faris had lived through whatever the Hell Oliver put her through, but she was never the same after that. She trusted absolutely no one. She would hardly ever let her big brother get close to her. It was even hard for her to trust her own mother. He had lost his youngest sister, and his other sister was now a recluse afraid of any human contact. She didn't want to have anything to do with him as he grew older. She pushed him away. All he had left was his dear Mother.

After the death of his youngest sister, and the rejection his other sister pushed on him, he closed off his heart. He wouldn't let anyone ever get that close to him again. He wouldn't let anybody hurt him ever again. He had to stay away from becoming too close to people. In the end, if you loved them or not, they would always hurt you. By accident or by choice, you could not display your heart to anyone. So, Cloud encased his in a wall of ice.

No one would hurt him now.

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><p>Cloud shot up from his bed breathing heavily. He quickly observed his surroundings with panicked eyes. When he remembered he was in Shin-Ra now, away from all of the pain of the past, he relaxed once more. Every night, he dreamed about that horrible day that changed everyone's fate. That day ripped his sisters from his life, it changed him, and it started the downward spiral of loneliness that soon followed.<p>

Turns out he still had more than his two sisters, but he had nothing to do with the two that followed after. He was glad his mother was able to find someone new and be happy with, but he would not share in that happiness. Even though he seemed cold and unapproachable, deep down, he was still afraid of rejection. This was the best way to cope with everything that had ever happened. Cloud even had brothers now, but he would not be close to them.

In the letters, his mother sent she spoke of how Faris was doing. She was still as shut off as ever, but she was finally learning to open up again. She was even beginning to ask about her Big Brother and how he was doing in Midgar. She spoke about the brothers he had. There was Zidane at age three, and Tidus at age one. She spoke of the man she had met, and how he was so gentle and kind, nothing like You-know-who' had been. His name had been Cascandance, but just went by 'Cade'.

He truly was happy for them, but he would not show it. His old and inner self could ponder about these new developments all it pleased, but how he was now, he would do nothing about it. Right now, he had to work for his dream:

Become SOLDIER like the great Sephiroth. Become strong so people would never have to suffer what he did ever again. He would support his family. But mostly, he was doing this for himself. He was pushing for First class so he could finally be stronger than his memories.

He was going to overcome his past and his fears.

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><p><em>AN: Annnd that's a wrap! Man, that was a pretty long chappie huh? :p As you can see, Chapter three got a heavy editing from the original, so I hope you liked the changed I put in there :)_

_Thanks and lots of hugs and cookies to all my readers, wether you be anonymous or not, you have my appreciation! ^-^_

_See you all in the next chapter, and as always..._

_Toodles! :D_  
><em>~Zimithrus1<em>


	4. Chapter 4: Routine

_Well, the next revised chapter for "A Heart Grown Cold" is out and ready to read! :D Thanks to all my readers and reviewers for making this story better than it previously was! Anyways, here's chapter 4 :)_

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><p><em>~XChapter 4: RoutineX~<em>

After the nightmare that plagued him for years, Cloud found himself unable to fall back asleep. It was still too early to get up with his unit, so he opted to lay in his bed for the remainder of the long morning. He stared up at the ceiling with distant eyes as his smoulder naturally slipped across his face. He heard the heavy snores of his bunk mates on either side of him. He heard the rustling of thin sheets covering his comrades. Suddenly, it felt too hot and stuffy.

Cloud tossed the covers from off his body and sat up, rubbing his right eye furiously. His plain white tank top had been bunched up on the left side from his disturbed sleep. He went to adjust it to over his body the right way, but he stopped short when he saw the old scar. It was deep, colored more like a crimson birthmark rather than scar tissue. It traveled from his waist, up to his fourth rib. The skin was still sensitive, and even brushing delicate fingers across it caused the blonde to flinch.

Feeling angry after inspecting the ancient injury, he yanked the shirt back down to cover it up. He ran clammy hands through his sweat damp wheat blonde hair, exhaling roughly through his nose. It was like this almost every night. There was not a rough morning that had gone by where he had not woken up peacefully. He only hoped that his mother and family were still doing okay. That's as much as he would think about that subject. His family was still important to him. Right now though, overcoming his memories was the most important thing to accomplish.

His dim blue eyes scanned the barracks one last time. The walls were a grey color, just pure cement. There were no windows anywhere in this large room. It was only stuffed full of beds and sweaty teenagers or young adults. Across from him to his left side, a heftier man turned over in his sleep. It only made the snoring sound echo off the walls a bit louder. Cloud shot the man a dirty look for a moment. He wasn't used to sleeping with such noisy bunk mates.

Feeling a bit of strain in his back from subconsciously slouching, the blonde decided to lay back down. He kept the suffocating blankets off him and just tucked his hands under his head. He would lay like that until his hands went numb or it was time to get up.

Thankfully for him, he had not been laying like that for more than ten minutes until a standard military alarm began to play loudly from a speaker situated on the furthest wall to the right, beside the only door in the barrack. A light automatically switched on in the center of the ceiling. Which happened to be right above Cloud's head. It was bright and had the cadet squint, but he easily adjusted to the light.

Wasting no time, Cloud sat up quickly, then gently eased himself over the right edge of the bed. Underneath lay his sea bag stuffed with a few spare clothes and his uniform. Stretching out his left hand, he gripped the rough textured deep blue strap and tugged. The large bag came sliding out from under the bed thanks to the tile floor and a lot of force. He eased himself from his sitting position from his bed towards a standing position beside his bed.

He quickly stripped down from the clothes he had been sleeping in. Everyone else was still groaning and trying to wake up. A few of them even tossed the covers back over their heads to block out the harsh fluorescent light. One was still snoring, actually. The blonde tossed the clothes he was sleeping in into the vacant spot in his sea bag where his uniform was. He slipped on the black undershirt first, then followed up with the light navy blue shirt. He rolled up the long sleeves until they were right above his elbows. He then threw his blue-green muffler over his neck and adjusted it properly.

After that, he secured his light grey shoulder paldrons on underneath his muffler, making sure the leather straps would keep it from slipping off during training. Next came the thick dark brown belt that snapped around his waist, followed by the thick suspenders that attached to he belt. After the top half of his uniform had been complete, he slipped on the pants that were the same color as his shirt. He made sure the long shirt flowed nice and orderly below the belt, the way it was supposed to be.

After putting the pants on, he sat on his unmade bed to attach his light grey knee guards. Once he was sure they were completely secure in place, he moved on to the brown boots, slipping them on and lacing them up properly. He tucked the bottom of his pants into the boots, making sure it wasn't skin tight or too bunched up. Then he wrapped the brown leg straps around the pants and tied them the way they were supposed to go.

As soon as Cloud finished assembling his uniform, he began to make his bed with precision. He made sure the sheets were properly tucked in with no creases or folds and fluffed up the pillow and centered it in the middle of the bed. Once he finished that task, Hills walked in.

There was an annoyed look on his well defined face. His bright brown eyes looked dull and uninterested, yet firm. His lips were locked in a thin and straight line, they looked to be pursed. The dark brown stubble surrounding the entirety of his jaw seemed a bit thicker. His unkempt mop of chestnut hair looked like it had just been thrown on his head like a hairpiece. Locks of hair shot out in random directions and looked as if he had just woken up and done nothing with it.

His uniform looked sloppy. It was the same kind of uniform as Cloud's, except he had an off-red muffler instead of a blue-green one. He scanned the rows, looking almost surprised when he saw the blonde standing at attention already in his uniform and his bed made. His eyes were dark and icy as usual as he stared back at Greg.

The brunette scanned the other rows of infantryman, only to become thoroughly displeased. Others were still trying to put their uniforms on or even attempt getting out of bed. But for some reason, seeing Cloud all ready and cocky looking just made him unexplainable more angry. Why did he look so cold and cocky all the time? Did he think he ran the world, or what? A low growl resonated from his rather thick neck, loosing all patience from an incompetent unit and a single individual that just happened to tick him off.

"Alright ladies! This isn't no girl scout camp! Hurry up and get your uniforms off before I take away breakfast privileges!" Hills exclaimed, more like shouted.

That got the bodies moving. Most of the cadets threw off the covers and hurried into their uniforms. If you take food away from hungry adolescents and young adults when hormones are all the rage, that will get their ass in gear. Within the next ten minutes, the entire unit was dressed with their beds all made and standing at attention in front of them.

Hills could be heard groaning from the front of the room. His thick index finger and thumb went to roughly massage the bridge of his nose as if he was developing a sinus headache. He stepped forward from the steel door, looking at each cadet as he passed them. However, when he stopped in front of Cloud, he literally stopped. Icy blue eyes clashed with warm brown ones. No matter how close Hills leaned his face in to see if the cadet would back up, the blonde never brought his head back. He kept standing still, yet still kept his eyes locked with the brunette's.

"You're a strange one. I'll have to keep my eye on you." Hills almost whispered to him, since he grunted it out.

Then he broke away and continued to observe the other cadets. Cloud turned his head and watched his commanding officer growl at other cadets, or tell the others to straighten up or fix their sloppily made uniform. Once he finished his assessments of his unit, he returned back to the front door of the barrack. He shook his head only once before speaking up.

"In my unit, you'll be dressed and ready in under three minutes. There will be no sleeping in past the alarm. No sleeping in past the lights. Once you hear that wake up call, get your asses up and in gear or I'll make sure to whip it there. Remember that." Hills said, as his eyebrows furrowed together, making eye contact with a few that had done his list of dont's.

"Today, we start your training off with Stair Suicides. I want you to run up a flight of stairs, enter that room and lap it twice. Run back to the stairs and continue on until you reach the floors that are inaccessible to you worms. I don't mean the SOLDIER floor either. You run your asses all the way up to the labs and back, repeating what you did during your ascent. I'll be watching your performance through the cameras in the stairs, keep that in mind. If you finish quick enough, you'll get to eat breakfast with the rest of your kind." Greg ordered. He then pointed to the direction of the open barrack door.

Cloud was the first to jog out of the Resting Quarters and make his way to the first floor. The rest of the unit followed behind either faster, or slower than the blonde. The ones who went too slow would be chewed out by Hills if they fell behind. The ones that went too fast in the beginning would burn all their stamina by floor fifty. By the time they reached the bottom of the stairwells, they were ordered to begin and not to stop. If Hills caught any of them taking a break, he'd double their suicides.

So, the unit of nineteen people tackled the large stairways. Cloud had been shoved into the middle due to the ones that ran too fast. He didn't appreciate being sandwiched in with a bunch of other cadets. When he could, he'd shoot a glare to the ones that pushed him back. It was hard to gain momentum in the stairs when the rest of the cadets tried to squeeze their way ahead, but were too slow to seize that opportunity and end up causing more congestion.

The blonde was able to see a few gaps as he looked up. Being small and agile enough, he took the plunge. He quickened his pace just enough to break away from the herd of infantryman. After he held a bit of lead from the others, he went back to his original pace so he would not burn all of his energy up. By the time they reached the sixth floor, Cloud was already leading the pack. He had a two floor lead on everyone else in his unit, and he could keep that lead even if he took just a few seconds to catch his breath.

Thankfully, running was one of his strengths. As a child, he often ran around the village or even explored the mountains behind them. Most days were spend outside with his sisters. But when it was just himself, he liked to go as far as he could. Once, he even made it to the bridge that connected the quaint village to the treacherous mountains where all the monsters were housed.

Thinking of that time got his memory overworking...

* * *

><p>A young eight year old Cloud was out playing with his sisters in the village. They were in the front of their house by the well in the middle of town. Their mother watched them on a rundown porch that had been build by their father a good fifteen years ago. The young twenty-five year old woman was sitting in a smooth wooden chair with a smile on her face.<p>

She was dressed in a light orange dress with long sleeves, ending about five inches from her ankles. She had on a plain white apron over her dress and tied loosely around her waist. She had on boots that were poorly laced with white socks bunched at the ankles. Her long yellow blonde hair was pulled into a high ponytail, but her thick bangs draped her face and were slung over the front of her shoulder as she watched her children on occasion. Her nose was mostly buried in a recipe book she hadn't read yet.

Cloud was dressed in a navy green short sleeved shirt that went a few inches past his waist and khaki shorts ending an inch above his knees that afternoon. A slingshot was even in his right back pocket. His hair had grown out a bit, just long enough to put it into a small and tight ponytail, which was currently how it was styled. His spikes however, sprung out in any direction they could go as usual. His bright blue eyes were alight with amusement as he played with his little sisters. They were all playing tag this sunny Wednesday afternoon in July.

Faris snuck around the well and tagged her older brother, laughing as she ran away. She was dressed in a light yellow shirt with a cute chocobo printed on the front. For pants, she was wearing plain blue jeans. The right knee had a hole in it though. Her shoes were a scuffed white color with Velcro straps. Her yellow blonde hair was in a low and loose ponytail, bobbing around as she ran. Her almond eyes were sparkling in the sun. She was only six years old.

Ashelia was currently hiding on the other side of the well, thinking she wouldn't be tagged if she hid good enough. She was clothed in a white and blue gingham short-sleeved dress that ended right at her kneecaps. Near the end of the dress were designs of little yellow ducks. She had on white mary janes with a Velcro strap instead of a buckle and had lacy white socks on as well. Her short white blonde hair was bobbed at the ends and even sported a light blue bow. Her brown eyes glimmered playfully as she continued to hide. She was mischievous for a five year old.

The game of tag didn't last very long though, ending when the blonde eight year old collapsed from exhaustion with the hot heat as an added factor. His sisters were by his side immediately, asking if he was alright and if they needed to take a break. He blew it off like it was nothing as he usually did and insisted that they could continue playing. They were easy to convince, but his mother was a different story. She had all but thrown down the cookbook and was over in a hurry, looking him over and fretting as if he had just broken an arm.

"Mom, I'm okay!" Cloud exclaimed gently as she even checked his head to see if he might have hit it when he fell.

"Are you absolutely sure?" She asked once more, looking square into eyes that mirrored her own color.

"Yeah, I just pushed myself too hard again, that's all." The blonde explained with a carefree smile.

"Alright... Just be careful when you start playing again, okay?" She asked, giving him one last hug.

She was given a quick head nod as a response. She returned the gesture and added a smile to boot. When she figured it was okay to leave his side, she returned to the porch to continue her hunt for a recipe to try. She did however, start looking up a whole lot more. The three resumed their game of tag until the two girls were worn out themselves. The sun was no longer at its' highest point in the sky by now, and had sank a bit more to the west, casting a light blue underneath the deep blue that the sky had already been. The two went ahead and returned inside the house to catch their breath and relax over a cool drink of water. Cloud however, wanted to stay outside.

After a lot of pleading with his mother, and even some begging and flat out bargaining, the blonde was able to stay outside a little bit longer. But only if he stayed close to the house or the well at all times and promised to be back by supper time and absolutely no later. He had eagerly promised her he would, but as the saying goes: "boys will be boys".

When his mother had gone inside the house to watch over Faris and Ashelia, Cloud's eyes mischievously roamed towards the mountains of Nebelheim. He peeked back towards the house, looking through the kitchen window. His mother had her back turned from and window and towards her daughters. While the getting was good, the blonde took off in the direction of the mountains, keeping his right hand over his trusty slingshot in case he happened to run into any danger.

He ran past the dark and run down Shin-Ra manor that had long since been abandoned. He had explored there a couple of times without his mother knowing. Sadly, the rumors weren't all up to par. Cloud had never discovered a hidden basement where they kept an old lab, or found any rooms loaded with coffins. Rumors even stated that a man slept in one of the coffins, but the blonde found it only to be superstition.

He took a left at a fork in the road, knowing which path did a round-a-about back to the village, and which one lead straight to the eerie and jagged mountains behind the village. As he grew closer, he made sure to pick up some sharp looking stones from the ground and shove them into his back left pocket. Going this deep into the mountains was sure to bring about some monsters. He wasn't scared though, danger and adventure went hand-and-hand for him. However, for his mother, danger and her adventurous son gave her a figurative heart attack.

As he grew closer to the treacherous sierras, the darker the sky seemed to get. What was once a light and dark blue sky had somehow conformed into a light purple and a blue so dark it was nearly black near the horizon line. A few crows flew overhead, cawing loudly. Instead of backing away and cowering in fear, Cloud began to jog faster towards the mountainside. A big grin consumed his face as he looked all around at the jagged peaks and sharp rocks. This was a great adventure in the making!

He followed the narrow mountain path towards the rickety bridge. The weather had gotten much colder here than what it was. Cloud found himself rubbing his arms to create some warmth. For a fading afternoon in mid July, it was freezing up here. He didn't think it would be this cold. Yet he continued on. The wind picked up slightly the higher he ascended towards the peaks, ruffling his hair and clothes. Just to be safe, he made sure to pick up a few more rocks before going any further. When he was satisfied, his back pocket was stuffed full of spiny rocks.

As he continued, the sky seemed to be getting darker a whole lot quicker. He looked over his left shoulder to see how dark the village was by this point. The sun was beginning to set now. In the distance, he could see the yellow ball slowly sink towards the horizon line where it would soon disappear. A few scattered clouds were still in the sky, tinted pink with creamy yellow underbellies. Mostly, the blue what had once been there was now a breathtaking array of golden yellows and bright light reds. Even some indigo was at the very top of the sky in that direction.

When he looked back towards the jagged sierras ahead of him, the sky was more of a deep dusky purple streaked with a black-blue and deep indigo near the base. He saw the silhouette of a bird fly overhead, then disappear as quick as it was seen. His stomach grumbled, demanding food. By this point, Cloud knew it was just around supper time. But going against a tiny voice in his head telling him to turn back, a grin spread across his face and he trudged on.

By the time he reached the rickety bridge, there were no traces of daylight left in the mountains. There were still streaks of light purple near the top of the sky, but was was just about it. Luckily, there was a full moon directly overhead to give him lots of light to continue his exploration. A few dotted stars in the sky aided the moon with a pale yellow light.

Cloud stuck his right foot out cautiously to test the bridge's durability. He tapped the rotting wooden planks a few times with his booted right foot. The planks creaked a bit, but held strong in the end. Becoming a little more daring, he put half of his weight onto the bridge. It groaned and complained, but held up his weight never-the-less. Becoming excited again, the blonde hopped onto the bridge. It swayed to the left and right a bit, causing the eight year old laugh as he swayed.

He was careful as he made his way across the old rope bridge. He had always wondered why there was a bridge out here in the first place? Maybe he'd figure out why tonight. When he made it to the other side, he jumped off with a spring in his step. The bridge continued to sway with the wind, but still held up. Cloud decided now was a good time to pull out his trusty slingshot and move some rocks from the back of his pocket to the front instead.

Feeling a bit more secure, he continued to follow the narrow path. It had only seemed to get colder the further up he got, but he was used to this kind of weather. His curious eyes looked all around to find a good place to explore. His eyes were able to discover a cave hiding a little ways off the path and up a small cliff. Eagerly, Cloud peeled away from the path and towards the small cliff. It sure looked like he'd be able to climb it. He started picking out footholds and other rocks to grab before he even started the ten foot climb.

He put his slingshot into his back pocket again to prepare for the climb. He put his right foot on a sturdy looking rock and reached his left hand out to grab a capable looking rock. With a bit of effort, he pulled himself up as his left foot found a foothold quickly. He alternated back and forth with his hands and feet, being able to scale up the squaty cliff. Within ten minutes he pulled himself up to the solid ground that lead to the cave. As he crawled over the smooth rock, he rolled onto his back and sprawled his legs out.

He started to laugh a bit, becoming more triumphant as time passed. He pumped his right fist into the air and let it fall to rest against his chest. After taking a quick breather, he was up on his feet again to explore the cave. Surprisingly, it was very bright. He would have though for sure he needed a flashlight. There was a certain kind of warmth coming from the cave that just drew the blonde closer. His clumsy footwork had him noisily kicking some pebbles and loose rocks as he ventured on, but he still felt no danger.

The cave was straightforward. No twists or turns, no sudden little caverns or drop offs. However, there was a little crawly space towards the back of the cave where the warmth seemed to be coming from. It looked too small for a full grown adult to squeeze through, but it was a perfect Cloud sized space! The blonde sunk down to his hands and knees and gently eased himself into the crawly space. With a bit of effort and cramped spaces, he was able to wiggle his way through the narrow hole and to the other side.

Once he was free from the tight hold of the hole, the blonde stood up on his feet and dusted his hands and knees off before fully looking up. His eyes were wide with what he saw. There was another itty bitty cave inside the one he was already in and standing right before him was a large twisted pillar of rock shooting up from the center of the circular cavern. Inside the dragon claw shaped pillar was a bright baby pink ball of Materia shimmering softly. It painted the cavern walls in a soft pink light that danced gracefully across the rocks.

With slow steps, Cloud approached the Materia. His eyes were completely fixated on the bright ball. It was mesmerizing and he couldn't pull his eyes away. Once he stopped in front of the pillar, the ball of condensed magic shimmered even brighter than before. Subconsciously, the blonde reached out his right hand and curled his fingers around the cold ball. The chill nipped at his bare flesh, but he only tightened his grip and pulled it from the pillar.

As he brought it close to his chest, he heard a voice from all around. It sounded like the cave itself was doing the talking.

"Young one. You have come to a dangerous place unprotected. You are naive indeed, but I sense great power within you. A noble spirit inside someone so young. I've looked long and hard for a master like you."

With that, the ball of Materia flashed unnaturally bright, a blinding white light shooting in every direction. It had Cloud squint his eyes and shake his head to get the drifters out of his eyes. The bright light only lasted a second before disappearing. Just as the blonde slowly cracked his eyes open, he realized the light that was casted from the Materia was fading. Now that the ball had been removed from its' place, its' light was dimming. Soon, the cave walls were so dark that the blonde could barely even see.

Now that it was pitch dark, Cloud began to grow scared. As he was turning around to go back where he came from, a rumbling in the ground stopped him in his tracks. He looked over his shoulder, turning his body to the left slightly to see what was amiss. The dragon shaped claw pillar was beginning to crack in multiple places and the rumbling was echoing throughout the entire cave. The blonde backed up against the wall where the crawly space was and waited for the shaking to stop.

It only seemed to be getting worse the longer he stood there. Not liking this adventure anymore, he quickly turned around to try and leave through the small hole. Yet as soon as he got on his knees to crawl away, loose rocks from the walls of this cavern broke off and tumbled down right in front of the small hole. It was completely blocked off now. Cloud realized he was trapped unless he could do something. He quickly shoved the Materia into his front left pocket and tried to grab the rock covering his escape route.

He tried and tried to lift it, but it would not move one bit. He tried to push it, but he did not have enough strength to even nudge it just a little. As a last ditch effort, he began to claw at the rock desperately, grunting and whimpering each time his short fingernails struck the rough rock. He had to stop when the stinging became too much to bear. He curled his fingers into his palms to find they were wet with warm fluid. He knew he had scratched deep enough to draw blood.

Just then, the shaking finally stopped. It became silent, almost too silent. Feeling his sixth sense kick in, he quickly turned around. There was a hole in the top of the cave stretching for miles. It was much too high to climb out of. The hole brought moonlight washing into the cavern and shedding much needed light. The moonlight was centered directly over the severely cracked dragon claw pillar. The silence ensued for just a moment longer.

Then the rock shattered into tiny pieces, shooting in every direction. A few pieces of rock shrapnel scathed Cloud's left cheek and up and down his exposed arms and legs. It left him a scraped up bloody mess. In place of the pillar, was a REAL dragon claw. The three talons stretched, flexing slightly. The dark green scales were enhanced in the pale brush-stroked moonlight.

Then the rock ground underneath began to crack, then completely gave way as a large blur shot up from the ground. A small piece of rock kept Cloud secure where the small cavern once was. In place of the cave now stood a mighty Dark Dragon. The beast had to at least be thirty feet tall. It had dark green scales up and down its' body and its' neck and belly was a yellow color with a leather like texture. It's massive wings were folded neatly across its' back where some deep red spikes were visible in the arch of his spine from under the skin.

It had golden yellow marble eyes and long off white teeth which looked to be the length of the blonde's entire arm. The beast easily towered over him on its' hind legs. The large behemoth of a dragon slightly craned its' neck down, getting a better look at the human that disturbed it. Cloud's eyes were wide in fright, but at the same time, in awe.

The large dragon leaned its' weight forward, resting on all four legs. This was a quadruped Dark Dragon. Its' head alone was just about as big as the blonde himself. It eased forward, nostrils flaring as it registered his scent. It was so close to him that the blonde could just reach out and touch its' snout if he so desired. He was too petrified by fear to even move.

The dragon spent a few moments looking at the blonde. With a soft huff that had Cloud's hair blown back, the dragon reared back up on its' back legs and unfurled it's thin wings. The appendages were indeed flimsy, and they were of a bright sky blue color. The blonde could even see the moon through the wingspan. It let out a mighty roar beginning to flap it's wings. The force of wind was so strong it blew the blonde back, making him tumble across the rocks a few feet.

The dragon gained enough wind under its' wings to take flight. It jumped up and soared into the air, roaring triumphantly before ascending higher to the sierra. Most likely to find a new place to go back to sleep. Even after the dragon disappeared from sight, Cloud still sat there motionless for a moment. Then he broke out into laughter, not believing he just escaped being dragon fodder by simply sitting still. Of course, his laughter alerted his presence to other monsters that wouldn't let him off so easily.

When he realized an Ahriman was face to face with him, a wicked smile carved in the monster's lips, Cloud let out a scream. He scrambled to his feet and began to run from the one eyed beast. He skidded to a stop when he realized he was still on that ten foot cliff from earlier. He looked back behind him to see that the winged creature was still flying towards him.

The blonde's brain finally caught up to him when he realized he still had his slingshot in his back pocket. He whipped it out and quickly loaded a sharp rock into it. He pulled back the cloth and let it go with a snap! The rock fragment soared through the air and struck the beast right in the center of it's massive eye. It let out a screech and stopped flying, throwing itself down jagged cliffs.

Cloud knew it was time to split, but also knew there was not enough time to cautiously climb down the small cliff. So he took a leap of faith and launched himself from the ledge. He was airborne for only a few seconds before landing on his feet and tumbling for a few more feet. He ended up sitting upright when he stopped tumbling, a dumbfound expression on his face at how he had landed.

The Ahriman was up quicker than the blonde, enraged about it's injured eye. It flapped its' way towards the boy with lightning speed and an ear-piercing cry. The eight year old scrambled to his feet and made his way back to the bridge as quick as he could, often loosing footing and stumbling as he tried to run. The yellow monster was hot on his heels, snapping its' sharp teeth at him as a frightening taunt.

He saw the bridge approaching in his line of sight. Pushing himself as hard as he could, he mad dashed towards it. However, in his hurry, he had failed to see a large rock in his path. His left foot collided with it and sent him to the ground once more. He quickly turned on his back to see how close the Ahriman was. The beast was close, probably about six feet away. Its' wings were extended and its' mouth was wide open and smiling sinisterly. It let out a screech, getting ready for an easy meal.

"_Back off my boy!_" A voice screeched, venom bitterly laced within.

Suddenly, the blonde's mother was in front of him and armed with a butcher knife in her right hand, and another butcher knife in her left hand. Six additional kitchen knives were strapped in what looked to be a belt that held said knives. Her blue eyes were burning with fire as she glared down the beast. Cloud quickly scampered behind his mother, poking his head around her orange dress to see if the monster was still interested in him or not.

The yellow beast rushed at the woman, fangs poised and ready to strike. She was quicker and sliced at the monster. She cut right into its' eye, drawing blood and other kinds of juices. The winged creature shrieked and flew back a bit, writhing as it maintained being in the air. Claudia rushed towards the monster, the knife in her left hand flicked so quickly that Cloud didn't even see her swing. Then a deep cut that ran from the Ahriman's eye, down to the base of its' body developed as sudden gash and blood squirted out of it.

The blonde woman barrel-rolled out of the way and threw the knife in her right hand straight at the beast. It stuck deep within the beast's head and it stopped moving immediately. It crashed to the rocky ground still and unmoving. Completely dead. Claudia walked up and yanked the knife out of the monster, sheathing it with the other knives in the belt around her waist. She turned to her son with stern eyes, and he knew he was in trouble.

She walked back over to him and stopped right in front of him. Cloud looked up at his mother with a scared and pitiful look. Yet there was awe and wonder carefully tucked away behind his eyes. She said nothing as she picked him up with a small amount of effort and held him close.

"I'm so glad you're safe. But don't think you're getting away scot-free." She spoke sternly. But she sighed away her anger and kissed him on top of his head gently. "Now let's get those wounds taken care of and get you fed." She added, making sure she carried her son back to the village the whole way.

As the two descended from the mountainside, The blonde could have sworn he heard his mother speak up.

"Just like your father. Wonder what he'd say if he were still here with us..."

The made Cloud confused, but he decided to stay silent. What did she mean '_If he was still here?_". He was just outside of town and not that far off. Yet he chose to keep quiet in the end.

* * *

><p>By the time Cloud snapped out of his memory, he had already made it to the last floor that he was required to go to. That meant he was halfway done. He'd have to enter the room and find the other stairwell to make a speedier exit. It was safety protocol that the Shin-Ra building have two stairways. Hills took that as an advantage for his Stair Suicide exercise.<p>

The blonde jogged his two floor laps before finding the other set of stairs to take that would lead him back down. He noticed a clock hanging on the wall adjacent to the one he as making his way towards. The analog hands displayed the time of six forty-five in the morning. He was making good time since beginning this exercise at four-thirty in the morning. He'd probably get to enjoy a nice breakfast if he finished up strong. Fueled by the aspect of a nice breakfast, he tackled the last half of his training.

About a quarter of the way done, he tripped on a step. It sent him stumbling down his current flight of stairs before colliding with a solid concrete wall. His breath was knocked out of him and stars swam in his eyes. As he looked up, he noticed a camera in the corner of the stairwell. All he could do was sigh. Hills mentioned he'd be observing them through the cameras. Cloud could only hope he wasn't the only one to trip down the stairs.

But he quickly shook that emotion away and made sure he hardened his eyes more than usual. He had to keep his heart cold. It was the only thing that could keep him safe, keep him from breaking and loosing it. He needed to stay strong. He got back up on his feet, dusting himself off and brushing off his fall like it was nothing. He made sure his mind wouldn't get him caught up in his memories again. Memories were only a distraction. An annoying distraction that allowed his old self to show through. He wouldn't let that happen.

He'd keep his heart hard and his eyes icy as ever. No giving up, no giving in. He tackled the Suicides with more ferocity, gnashing his teeth inconspicuously.

His cold heart would always keep him protected.

* * *

><p>AN: Whew! There's chapter four for you guys! Hope it was long enough to make up for my absence :3 I'll try to update again soon! please leave me some feedback to read! It would be greatly appreciated! Ps, hope you all had a happy holiday! :3

See you all in the next chapter! :D

Sayonara!  
>~Zimithrus1<p>

PS: Hope you all had a great Christmas! :3


	5. Chapter 5: Melt

Hello all! I have returned, bringing the latest chapter of Heart with me! :) I apologize for the obscene long wait, but a lot of stuff went down on my end and it took me awhile to break out of it. But here I am now! So, I'll end this up here and let you guys get to it! Happy reading!

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><p>~XChapter 5: MeltX~<p>

Cloud squinted his his right eye, doing his best to focus on the stationary target about twenty feet out from him. It would have been easier and taken less time to aim if it was not for his swelling left eye. Upon completing his rounds of Star Suicides yesterday, Hills had been waiting for him in the mess hall. Unable to forgive the icy blonde for tripping down the stairs, he was given a black eye as a 'warning' to not mess up again.

The blonde scoffed harshly past slightly parted lips before firing off a round of shots from his issued rifle. Each bullet whizzed through the flimsy paper dead square in the head and chest. Each bullet ripped through each vital point dead on. Even with slightly blurred accuracy, it did not do much to hinder the blonde's performance overall.

He felt a gloved hand clap his shoulder and squeeze roughly. He gently turned his head to the right, already knowing who it was, however. Hills stood behind him, a sneer on his face as the hold on his shoulder tightened.

"Good work, runt." He grunted before shoving his shoulder and moving through the lines of cadets practicing their aiming as well.

Cloud knew better and knew that was no compliment. If anything, it was just deception in pretty packaging stating that if managed to miss his marks he'd surely be in for it later. He edged those meager threats to the back of his head and focused more on the task at hand.

Currently, his unit was practicing their aiming with their guns down in a shooting range located on floor sixty-six. Each cadet was placed in their own little booth and given only their rifles to practice with. The few cadets that had yet to go were leaning against the far off wall behind the booths waiting for the first round of troopers to finish up their shift. A few had their arms crossed over their chests, some had their feet propped up against the wall behind them, and a few were standing still as stone hoping that Hills wouldn't approach them.

_'A feeble attempt' _Cloud quipped silently to himself.

Hills degraded every single cadet in the small unit of only twelve members. Mostly, the cadets that did the best were under his scrutinizing grimace. The blonde fired a few more shots straight through the flimsy paper. Due to the swelling of his eye, his aim was slightly off when he fired off these rounds. He still hit the paper target in the head and chest, but it was off slightly. his scowl deepened. How was he letting a silly black eye throw off his aim? The thought in itself was silly.

"Alright second shift, you're up!" Hills ordered to the second shift, using his right thumb to point towards the shooting range booths.

First shift holstered their weapons and stepped back from the booths to lean against the walls like the others had done before them. Cloud took stance closest to the open door that lead to the main lobby of the sixty-sixth floor. He could see a few potted plants here and there and the occasional walk-by. His gaze was broken when he heard three of his comrades beginning to whisper from the left of him.

"Come on now, Dash. Ya' know better than that!" One of them spoke, leaning close to another one as a third one on the other side leaned in as well.

"Does it look like I care, Jack? I'm freaking worn out!" Dash exclaimed.

"Um, but, won't Hills catch on when he sees what you're going to do?" The third whispered, very worried that their superior officer would catch on.

"That's why I'm _sneaking _it, Shy!" Dash countered.

_'Those three again...'_ Cloud thought, looking them over for a moment.

Avery Jack, Rutherford Dash, and Francis Shy: The Three Musketeers of Midgar. Or Shin-Ra, technically speaking.

Jack was a country boy from Mideel possessing platinum blonde hair, light freckles near his eyes and deep olive green eyes complimenting the rest of his face. He was of average body build and had the most brains of the group. He was level-headed and contained the most sense and strength.

Dash was born and raised in the slums of Midgar, carrying himself in an air of arrogance and slick pride. He always looked for an easy way out or the fastest route. He had wild black hair that always looked unbrushed and the strangest glow of pink behind amethyst eyes. He was tall, lanky, thin and obscenely lazy.

Shy hailed from Cosmo Canyon, a slim, frail, and cowardly individual all in all. He had bright yellow blonde hair much like Cloud's own with bright mint green eyes that glowed even in the dimmest of lighting. He barely possessed a spine and was known as the unit's beloved pushover. How he ever made it into Shin-Ra was a mystery in itself.

This go round, Dash had snagged an Ether. The fool! Hills banned the use of Potions or Ethers in his unit. He even went so far as to ban the usage of Materia as well. He believed you could not persevere by using 'cheap tricks' to save your hide and worked each of his troopers to the bone with little to no breaks. This was the squad of the most elite, there would be no room for slack. But by the way things went down, those three must have slipped in through the cracks or were actually more talented than they let on.

"Dash, come on now. Ya' know what's gonna happen if Hills catches ya' using that thang!" Jack pleaded, hoping that his friend wouldn't really try to do something this foolish.

"Re-_lax, _Jack! I've got a back-up plan, I'm not an idiot!" Dash reassured cockily as he popped open the top of the bottle, the noise blending right in with the sound of gunshots.

"m-Maybe you should, mm, reconsider?" Shy peeped, trying to aid Jack as best as he could.

"I _know _what I'm doing!" Dash snapped, bringing the bottle up to his thin lips.

As he tilted his head back to let the liquid touch his tongue, Shy quickly averted his eyes and hid them behind his gloved hands. Jack just brought his right hand up to his forehead and groaned roughly, not even knowing why the ravenette was so brash and impulsive.

"Cadet Dash! What in Ifrit's name is **that?**" Hills bellowed from across the far end of the room.

By the way his voice reverberated throughout the entire room made every single cadet stop, turn, and stare. The firing sicced and silence penetrated the still air. Dash and the other two of his friends looked up, Jack and Shy looking like a deer caught in the headlights while the third just stayed neutral.

"I do believe it is an Ether, Sir." Dash stated, pointing out the obvious.

"Well no fuckin' shit, Dash. You wanna tell me _**why **_there is an Ether in your possession?" Hills growled, beginning to storm up towards the group of three while Cloud watched with disinterest.

"I'd tell you, sir. But I think Strife should be the one to do so. It _is his _Ether after all." Dash sneered, looking over at the blonde with a smug grin on his face.

Cloud shot the ravenette the coldest and dirtiest 'go to Hell look' he could muster before Hills marched right up to the apathetic blonde, stopping just a foot in front of him.

"I should have known better than to give you _just _a black eye for your mistake yesterday." The brunette officer growled, seizing the blonde's green muffler in his burly right fist.

"Permission to speak, Sir?" Cloud asked, his eyes dull and bored.

"Permission **Denied**, _Strife._" Hills spat, clenching the muffler in his fist a little tighter as Cloud was pulled off the wall and further toward his superior officer.

The blonde could hear Dash chuckling from his left. He glanced over at the pompous arse just in time to see the ornery cadet pointing at him while he laughed. Shy backed away, looking absolutely horrified at Hills outburst. Jack continued to shake his head and decided to look elsewhere.

"What are you looking at, eyes on me, _runt!_" The lieutenant barked, shaking the muffler in his iron grip roughly.

Cloud's eyes snapped back towards his officer, but remained cold and impassive. He looked almost _bored _to bits in a way. Hills, however, would have none of that distant attitude. With all the force he could muster, the older man shoved the blonde right into the wall. His head hit with a loud _thunk_ sound. Sharp ringing pierced through his hearing and black dotted the corners of his vision and where there was no black, stars were swimming around instead. He was momentarily dazed, but instantly snapped right back into that cold and off-put persona as the dizziness began to leave.

"Huh, I guess you are _thick-headed._ Didn't break your skull but you managed to crack that reinforced wall." Hills grunted, grip from his muffler shooting straight to grip his face, then ram it straight into the wall again.

Cloud's head snapped back from the impact as if he had just suffered whiplash. His whole body gave off an involuntary shudder as he felt a tingling sensation ripple through his arms and legs, vibrate in his chest, then back to his arms and legs. The sharp ringing intensified further and the black in the corners swarmed further into his vision. There were so many stars that the blonde could barely make out anything past the gaps in his superior officer's grip.

He felt something warm trickle down his forehead, tracing his right eyebrow and steadily oozing down it and dotting his eyelashes. Hills removed his hand from the cadet's face and a pleased look was evident on his features. Cloud slowly raised up a slightly shaking hand to gently touch his forehead. When he pulled his brown-clad hand back he saw thick crimson blood splashed all over the palm of his glove. That fucking bastard just made him _bleed._

"There. That concussion ought to teach you not to use or give others contraband items. Now, give me twenty push-ups to ensure your brain can still function." The brunette ordered and his left index finger pointed at the ground below him.

Cloud, a bit dazed from the head injury and feeling rather agitated and pissed as all Hell due to Dash's lie, would have none of that. He looked Hills right in his brown eyes, keeping his own blue ones colder than dry ice.

"Sir? With all due respect, **Fuck off.**" he spat, gnashing his teeth after his bold statement as a bit of his own metallic tasting blood seeped past his teeth and into his mouth, which he promptly used it to spit at the space of empty floor right in front of his officer.

Hills look taken aback for a moment, almond brown eyes widening in sheer disbelief. It didn't last long before his brows of equal hue to his hair furrowed down sharply and his eyes turned a sickening kind of mad. A light twitch pulled at the right corner of his lip as he felt his anger beginning to bubble and overflow like a washing machine with too much detergent.

"What, the _**fuck **_**did you just say to me!?**" Hills hollered, clenching his fists together tightly, squeezing the living daylights out of his own calloused fingers.

"I apologize, sir. But I'm sure your ears work just fine, surely I don't have to repeat myself to a superior officer with the temper and attitude of a three year old?" Cloud egged on nonchalantly, getting a rile out of the older male due to his own anger, hidden and locked up tight behind ice cold eyes and an off-put posture.

The brunette _had _it after that. With strength more like a raging bull than a man, he charged towards the blonde. The cadet meant to get out of the way as quick as he could, but that slight jostle from the head injury from earlier slowed his reaction time.

Unable to sidestep fast enough, A tightly balled right fist struck him square in his already bloody forehead. Due to the force, the speed, and the fact that there was no stopping Hills now, the fist that struck his head sent him crashing back into the wall he was bashed into twice before. This time, instead of a harsh _thunk _sound, a sharp _crack _echoed through the entire room.

The entire squadron flinched or cringed at the sound, some even having to take a step back or avert their eyes. Dash, the trooper responsible for this had shrunk back, trying to assimilate to become part of the background. Jack gave the ravenette a harsh glare with a soft snort. Shy was currently cowering behind one of his comrades, unable to watch the current event at hand.

Black completely overtook Cloud's sight for a few brief moments and that sharp ringing became more like an ear piercing screech akin to that of a harpy. There was a harsh pounding in the back of his head that traveled in tremors to the other parts of his head. He stumbled a bit, finding a way to pull himself away from the wall. He felt that warm red liquid flow down his forehead again, almost going covering the right side of his face. A few dots got into his good eye and caused him to blink rapidly.

**"By the time I'm done with you, Strife, you'll be sent straight to the infirmary in a body bag!" **Hills screeched, loosing all composure.

The older male went to lunge straight for the temporarily dazed cadet, but something stopped him. A lone, unknown, and helmed cadet from part of the background sprang to life and gripped the back of his uniform for dear life and pulled as hard as he could. The brunette was yanked back and thrown off balance, stumbling as he tried to regain his footing and snorting much like an angry bull.

"Strife, run!" The helmed cadet exclaimed, now going to hold the crazed lieutenant back so his comrade could escape.

That only made Cloud more dazed. Someone in his unit was actually coming to his aid? That was indeed a shock. Usually, they let him be or just flat out made fun of him when they thought he wasn't aware of it. Not wanting to look a gift horse in the mouth, the blonde stumbled towards the open doorway, stars swarming in every inch and corner of his vision. Black fuzzed in and out rapidly, almost creating a dim light show. As he walked, he felt each step bounce off the tile to shoot through his ears as if he had just heard a handgun fired off next to him.

Where? Where could he go to escape from Hills? Well, at least until his rage simmered down enough so that when he returned he wouldn't be brutally murdered. He couldn't exactly think straight with a pounding, head-splitting migraine that just oozed blood all over his face and obscured the vision in his good unswollen eye.

Thankfully, the black stopped pulsating like some kind of techno light show and allowed him to make out where he was currently wandering. He looked around for a moment, his right hands going to tenderly rest against his banged up head. In the nearby and quite fuzzy distance, he made out an elevator. He began to walk as quickly as he could towards it, a bit unsteady on his feet, but able to retain most of his balance.

His blood chilled even more so than it already was when he heard a loud crash and boisterous yelling that could only come from his superior officer. He knew he had to pick up the pace. As he observed the elevator, he could barely make out a figure standing in front of it and waiting for the doors to open. This could be his getaway chance!

He took his fast walk to a light jog, being careful not to loose balance or slip in a small dotted puddle of his own blood. When a drop of the substance smacked him in the eye, he brought his right gloved hand up and vigorously rubbed at his eyelid, barely able to see a squinted image of where he was through a swelling left eye. When he succeeded in rubbing the blood from his eye, he made it to a set of stairs that led up to the elevator. The fuzzy figure watched the doors open and it stepped inside.

"**Strife!" **Hills bellowed, charging out of the gun range like a mad animal.

For a moment, fear allowed his icy eyes to defrost a bit and actually let them widen in the panic that set in. He had to hurry. He quickly tackled the stairs, the sharp screeching dulling down to more of a gentle ringing. Most of the stars had dispersed, but a few had lingered around to light up his line of sight like stray fireflies. He was about halfway up the steps when he heard the brunette huffing and snorting, obviously hot on his trail now.

"I will **tear **you **limb from fucking limb!**" Hills threatened, able to catch up with a pain-slowed cadet faster than he anticipated.

Cloud pushed himself up the stairs harder, silently thanking the deranged Lieutenant for three hours straight of Stair Suicides. It allowed him to gain a lead that he surely would not pass up. As he breached the stairs and onto the upper level, he saw the elevator doors beginning to close. Pushing himself to the max, he broke out in a mad sprint towards his ever closing escape.

The brunette behind him had caught up with ease, reaching out to try and grab him. Thankfully for Cloud, he missed him by a hair and he was able to fly straight into the elevator just in time for the doors to close right in front of Hills. However, when entering said escape, he crashed straight into a solid wall of unmoving muscle, a harsh _oomph _sound following the crash.

Cloud looked up to find himself face-to-face with the Second class SOLDIER that sat with him for dinner two evenings ago. The ravenette had a smile on his face, but when he saw the large amount of blood coursing down the cadet's face, a serious expression set dead into his electric Mako blue eyes.

"Woah! What happened to you?" He asked quickly, watching as the blonde pushed himself away -rather harshly- from him and straighten up.

"A disagreement." Cloud bluntly stated, his fear gone and his icy side returning to him. He did however, remember protocol and quickly saluted the higher class.

He jerked his head back and dropped the salute when the older male leaned his in. Concern was then etched into the Second Class' eyes. A sharp hiss sound was heard when he drew in air through his mouth past clenched teeth.

"Must have been a pretty violent disagreement then." He stated, pulling back as he saw the blonde tensing.

"It's nothing." The blonde retorted, moving to stand in another corner of the elevator.

Zack observed the trooper. He was obviously keeping his distance so he wouldn't be spoken to anymore. He had encased himself in that icy aura again and seemed content with bleeding all over the place and dealing with a head wound as long as he didn't have to talk to anyone. He should _really _get that looked at. But it technically wasn't any of the ravenette's business. But technically, the ravenette had a knack for making other's business _his _business too.

"You should really go down to the infirmary and get that looked at." Zack spoke, breaking the icy silence.

When Cloud shot him a look, he quickly responded with a 'I'm just sayin'!', before hastily looking at the buttons on the elevator as his right arm shot behind his back to grab his left one. He stole a quick glance back at the blonde to see if he was staring at him. His blue eyes were dead fixed into the little wall in front of him. The ravenette looked back to the buttons on the panel by the elevator doors. Nonchalantly, he reached out and hit the button corresponding to floor 60: The infirmary technically speaking. The elevator stopped moving for a moment, before it picked up again and started going down. Immediately after, a voice broke the silence.

"What did you do?" Cloud accused.

"Me? Nothing!" Zack responded innocently as he went to stare at the floor numbers indicated on a small red panel near the top of the elevator.

"Look, Sir. I appreciate your concern, but I can handle just fine on my own." The blonde told the Second Class.

"Zack." The ravenette responded.

This got the blonde to look over at him, a slight hint of confusion glimmering behind his frozen eyes.

"My name is Zack. You don't have to call me sir, that's a bit too stiff for my tastes." He said, a light grin tugging at the right corner of his bow shaped lips as he comfortably crossed his arms over his chest.

"Isn't that-... Against protocol?" Cloud questioned, pausing when he tried to not sound so curious.

"Not when it's just two people with nothing better to do and no place to be." Zack responded with a quick wink of his left eye and a bigger half grin.

Cloud's icy eyes actually widened slightly, weither he knew he was in control of it or not.

"So, I never caught your name, Spiky." The ravenette brought up with a lopsided grin this time.

"It's Cloud, not _Spiky._" The blonde grunted, almost a little irritated at the silly nickname he just received.

"A pleasure, Cloud." Zack said with a chuckle knowing he got a slight reaction out of the usually stoic cadet.

"...You're certainly strange." The cadet muttered to himself before becoming aware he had actually said that aloud and not in his head.

What was that all about? Cloud Strife was _not _one for words, especially to people he barely even knew or could refer them as an acquaintance even! There was this warm aura that the Second class seemed to spread around the entirety of the cramped elevator space.

"I've been told that before." Zack responded with a light laugh following his statement.

Before anything else could be said, the elevator dinged and the steely doors slowly opened up to let them out. The ravenette bounded off much like a hopping rabbit, then turned to look behind him to see if the blonde would follow. To his hunch, he was right. The cadet stepped out with uncertainty in his eyes as he gazed at the Second class before quickly breaking contact to look around the large room.

It was almost completely white-washed, but a few earthy tones of furniture dimmed the brightness of the white. Of such things were chairs, the receptionist's desk, and the doors stretched down a long hallway before splitting off on either side in the distance. When Cloud saw no one in the vicinity, he figured he'd just go somewhere else to get patched up. He didn't do a bad job cleaning and bandaging himself up. He turned on his heel to approach the elevator again, but a hand lightly grabbing his forearm stopped him from advancing any further.

"You aren't slippin' away that easily. You've got to get that head looked at." Zack spoke, almost using a _singsong _tone when he spoke.

"It's fine. I can manage." Cloud responded, glancing back at the ravenette as he answered.

"Well, if you're in such a hurry to go, why haven't you pulled yourself away yet?" Zack asked, his eyes motioning down to where he was currently holding on to the blonde's forearm.

Realizing he made no move to break free, he quickly did so as the faintest of blushes brushed across his cheeks, vanishing as quick as it came. A smolder hastily appeared on his face to cover up the display of human emotions before any more could leak through. What was going on with him? Normally, he'd never be this talkative, he'd never allow anyone else to help him out, and he most certainly would _never _let someone hang on to him like that!

Could it be that by just spending five minutes in the Second Class' presence that he was already starting to melt his ice-encased heart? No, that wasn't possible. Cloud had spent _years _to get a smolder to look like a natural expression, took years to build himself up to where he was now. So how could someone be breaking down years of work in a matter of mere _minutes_? He hadn't felt this confused, this..._Human _in a long time.

It was exposing. It was violating. He had spent so long being cold and alone that feeling warm and friendly was an alien feeling to him. He hadn't been like this since before the incident that stripped him of his tears and smiles for good. Even the smolder he spent so long working to get perfect was beginning to wither away. All because he spent some time around a crazily enthusiastic yet serious and sensitive SOLDIER!

"I-...I have to go!" Cloud exclaimed with a bit more passion than he was used to.

With that, he bolted from the infirmary and into the elevator again and punched the button for floor sixty-six. But as he looked up and saw the doors closing, Zack wore a sad expression on his face. It was one that reminded the blonde of a kicked puppy. And that expression burned into his memory even after the doors closed. It wasn't until after the elevator began to ascend that he could push that look to the back of his head and focus on something more important: Slipping into his old self again.

He let out a heavy and quite shaky sigh. How on earth could he become unhinged so quickly? He just couldn't get over the fact that a single Second class broke down impenetrable walls that the cadet had spent so many years working to make them indestructible in a matter of minutes. He then took a deep breath and recomposed himself. The answer to this was clear.

He'd have to steer clear of that SOLDIER so he could remained cold and frozen.

So he'd remain safe from more heartache.

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><p>AN: And there's chapter five for you guys! A bit more tweaked than the original chapter where the elevator part took place, I hope you guys liked the revisions! Anways, don't forget to leave some feedback to let me know what you thought! I read every review I get and I appreciate it when you guys take the time out of your day to drop me a line! :) Well, until the next chapter!

Toodles!  
>~Zimithrus1<p> 


	6. Chapter 6: Crimson Commander

Hello everyone! Welcome to chapter six of 'Heart'! I figured this story could use an update since it's been a cool minute. So, with that outta the way and not much to say up here, enjoy the chappie! :)

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><p>~XChapter 6: Crimson CommanderX~<p>

Cloud kept his right hand over his pounding and bloodied head as he made his way through the halls of the infantry floors. No way in Ifrit's seven Hells would he return back to the shooting grounds to be further pummeled by his insubordinate superior. Currently, he was making his way back to his unit barracks to take care of this head injury himself. He always kept a small ration of medical supplies in his sea bag at all times. Knowing him and knowing how people acted and reacted around him, it was a necessary precaution.

His cold eyes scanned each door, looking for his unit number. He bypassed one through ten and continued the trek. He stopped in his tracks when he arrived in front of unit thirteen's barracks. The door was closed but the lights were still on. Cloud pushed the door open and stepped inside. Cool air conditioning met with his face and clothes as he swept through the room. He paused in the middle of the room on the left side where his cot was located.

He knelt to the white washed tile below him and tugged his navy blue colored sea bag out from under his bed. In the front and smallest pocket of the bag is where he kept him small stash of medical supplies. He unzipped the small pocket and began to rummage through the contents. He pulled out a tiny blue vial of contraband potion. Hills may not allow them during training, but he didn't say _anything _about using them on off-hours. Ever since he became cold and distant, he never had any trouble putting it to the man.

He popped the cork of the vial and tipped back the bright cobalt liquid into his mouth. He swallowed with a shiver. Potions and ethers always had the nastiest of tastes in the world. Potions tasted like the worst cold medicine imaginable while ethers tasted like rubbing alcohol with a splash of too strong and synthetic cinnamon. He could feel the vile tasting liquid do its duty. It gently mended the wounds on his body and caused his head to stop throbbing. The blood was another story, but that wasn't anything he couldn't content with.

To keep the slightly sealed patchwork from growing infected, he pulled out a small roll of bandages. He tore of the correct amount to use to wrap around his head. The tan material was circled around his head three times before being tucked into itself. It wasn't the best medical treatment in the world, but it was enough to do the job. When everything had been taken care of, he put the leftover medical supplies and empty potion vial back into his back and zipped the small pocket up. With a small push, he bag slid back underneath his bed to await further use in the future.

As soon as he stood back up to fully height he noticed the pair of eyes staring at him. He fully turned to face the figure sitting about four beds away from him. The teen was small, just about as small as Cloud himself. His uniform was sloppily made and his muffler was flat out missing. He was sitting criss-cross against the bed while loudly slurping away at a box of apple juice.

His blonde hair with natural black streaks fell into his face and was laying haphazardly around his head like a mop. His eyes of forest green twinkled playfully as he squeezed the remaining juice out of his box and through the flimsy straw using his right hand. He removed the plastic straw from his upper lip with a sharp _pop _noise.

Shaedon Lancastor: The unit's beloved brokedick. While he may be the clumsiest and most reckless teen in the entire elite sqaud with a knack at injuring himself doing the most mundane of tasks, he was one of the best fighters in the whole unit with flawless marksmanship. But not only that, the blonde couldn't say this about most people, but,

They were sort of friends.

"Whatd'ja do this time, Azure-eyes?" He prompted as he further crumpled up the empty carton of apple juice.

"Pissed off Hills." The blonde deadpanned.

"When do you _not _do that?" The blonde and black-haired teen questioned as he flopped his back against his cot, the springs squeaking and creaking underneath his light weight.

"Never." Cloud responded, breaking away from his bunk to approach the smaller framed teen's cot.

"That's true. Want a contraband juice box?" Lancastor asked as the slightly taller blonde appeared in his line of sight.

"Only if you have grape." Cloud spoke as he crossed his arms over his chest comfortably, his eyes still firm and set as ever.

"I _always _have grape!" The dual-haired teen reminded as he quickly sat up and worked his right foot underneath his cot.

When his booted foot looped into one of his sea bag's handles, he kicked the unzipped bag out from under his bed. Not only was Lancastor a reckless yet powerful brokedick, he was also a cunning individual. His sea bag was always stuffed full of contraband sweets, snacks, and drinks that he often looted from the cafeteria when prying eyes were distracted. It's not like all food was contraband within Shin-Ra, just in Hill's unit were they forbidden to have anything but the uniforms on their back and the weapons that went with.

Among the mix of chocolates and caramels lay small seven and a half fluid ounce cans of fruity sodas scattered about. Cloud used one hand to nudge away the other things and claim his small six ounce carton of one hundred percent pure grape juice. Well, that's what it said on the box anyways. He peeled off the straw and tore it out of the wrapping before stabbing it into the box. He brought it to his lips and sipped lazily at it while his eyes remained frozen in neutral.

"You still look like you're gonna kill someone even when ya' drink grape juice. Do you _ever _smile?" Lancastor questioned as his discarded box of juice went back into his bag to hide from Hills. The paranoid captain even went through the trash cans.

"Once, it was a long time ago." Cloud responded as he sucked the carton dry within seconds.

"That's what you say about everything." The dual-haired teen responded with his inhuman smile.

His teeth were pointed and jagged like the fangs of a Nibel wolf back home. He had once been a part of a Gene-splicing experiment back in his hometown of Tradeport, a small fishing town that was barely even on the map off the eastern continent. He had the DNA of some kind of mountain wolf beast running through his cells. It explained the raw power and jagged teeth he possessed to a T.

The teen swiped the empty juice box from Cloud's slackened grip and dropped it into his bag. He then kicked it back underneath his bed.

"So, what kind of injury did you get to be put on light duty?" The blonde questioned as he sat on a vacant cot on the left side of Lancastor's cot.

"Contusion. Fell off a cliff on a field mission." He responded, gently tapping at his left temple with his left index finger.

"So you're here instead of the infirmary because-?"

"Hills said anyone that went to the infirmary because of a head bump is a wuss and told me to just come here instead after getting a little patch job from the nurse."

"Why does Hills even have access to train cadets in the first place if he treats us worse than cattle?" Cloud grunted, eyes icing over more than usual.

"Cause no one knows. Everyone just thinks he's a little harsh with us, but they dun't know he downright steps on us, ya' know?" Lancastor explained as his left hand went up into a shrug while the right just curled around the metal frame of his cot.

Cloud just snorted through his nose roughly as he turned his eyes to the vacant cots all stretched out behind and beside him. So what if this was some kind of elite unit? Just because of that that they were given the worst superior officer in the whole damn joint? All becuse he was 'tough' on his cadets too, no less. The food chain here was all kinds of messed up.

The barrack door then creaked open as both cadets turned to the sound. A helmed Third Class eased his way into the unit room and stood by the door as it swung shut.

"I'm looking for cadet Cloud Strife, are any of you two him?" He questioned loudly, his request echoing off the white-washed walls of the room.

"You're looking at him." The blonde responded as he stood up from he cot he was sitting on.

"I have been ordered to take you to SOLDIER Director Lazard, if you could please come with me." The Third explained as Cloud began to make his way towards the door.

"Whatever." The cadet responded as he shoved his hands into his pockets and followed the Third out of the room.

The Barrack door swung shut as he was lead to the elevators. The Third pressed the call button and the metallic doors slid right open. The two stepped inside while he pressed floor fifty. The doors eased shut as the steel box began to ascend. The ride was stiff and silent, both men standing still like statues. The box stopped moving and the doors opened up with a ding, signaling they had arrived on the correct floor. The Third lead the way while Cloud removed his hands from his pockets and stood up straighter.

They approached the mahogany wooden desk of the SOLDIER director. The Third saluted quickly while the man behind the desk waved him off wordlessly. The helmed man then spun on his heel and took his leave. The remaining cadet saluted sharply at the director to show respect.

"At ease, cadet." He responded with a small gesture of his right hand.

His sandy blonde hair was parted down the middle and thin silver framed glasses sat against the bridge of his nose. His hands were gloved and his suit was a deep blue with very thin white vertical striped jutting across. Since he was sitting down in his swivel chair, his lower half was blocked from view.

"Do you have nay reason why I brought you up here, Strife?" The Director questioned as he propped his elbows up on his desk and folded his gloved hands together.

"No, sir." Cloud responded as he continued to stand stiff like a plank of wood.

"Then I'd say come take a look." He responded as he turned his computer screen towards the blonde's direction.

The cadet took three steps closer to the desk and stood straight as his cold blue eyes connected with the moniter of the computer. There was a reel of footage playing from the shooting grounds about an hour ago. It began with Dash sneaking the ether, then panned to Hills shouting out what was in the cadet's hand. Looks were then exchanged to Cloud while he shot a rival glare back. Hills had run up to him and reprimanded him harshly before he shoved him into the wall and cracked it. Showed him spitting blood at the boots of his officer in a defying manner.

It played out the entire scene all the way until he ran out of the floor the shooting range was located on before the footage was paused.

"Is this for reprimandation for my insubordinate behavior towards a superior officer?" Cloud questioned as his eyes narrowed down dangerously.

"It's everything but that, Strife. No need to get edgy." Lazard dismissed with a wave of his hand. "This is about Hills, not you. Tell me, if he always this rough to his cadets?"

"The truth, sir?"

"The absolute, one hundred percent truth."

"Yes. He is always this rough with us. We may be supposedly _elite, _but he goes out of his way to make our training Hell. He makes nescicary items like potions and ethers contraband. Bans the usage of Materia altogether and he physically abuses us out of proportion." Cloud explained.

"I see. How long has this been going on?" He asked himself, leaning back in his chair as he crossed his arms over his chest in deep thought. His eyes then snapped back towards Cloud.

"I am going to disband his unit, demote him, then divide his cadets into other squadrons. However for you, I have something different in mind." he decided after a moment of thinking.

"Which is?" The blonde asked as his narrowed eyes eased up some.

"You are aware that we have a student-mentor program among our SOLDIER's, correct?"

"Yes, sir."

"Knowing your temperament and disposition, I'd say you just might qualify for this program under a certain First Class."

"Really now?" Cloud drawled in a bland fashion, sarcasm laced thick in his voice.

"Quite so. Give me just a moment." Lazard told him before he pulled out his PHS and punched in a few numbers before holding the device up to his ear.

After the third ring, it clicked and connected with the other side.

"What?" A fiery voice grunted out.

"Genesis, I do recall that you are signed up for the Student-Mentor program?"

"Yeah? So?"

"I believe I have found an aspiring cadet that will meet your picky qualifications."

"...I'll be there in five. You better not be wasting my tine Director, you know how I hate disappointment." He purred into the receiver before swiftly disconnecting.

"Question, Strife." Lazard spoke up to the cadet.

"Yes sir?"

"Do you like LOVELESS?"

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><p>AN: And I just ended the chappie just like the old chapter five XD I figured it'd be a fitting end like last time! Anyways, I hope you all enjoyed it! Don't forget to drop a line on your way out so I know what you thought of it!

Until the next chappie, everyone!

Toodles!  
>~Zimithrus1<p> 


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